Irony
by Alias Enigma
Summary: Kent and Fiora shared only a friendship, a loyalty to each other, and some of the highest moral standings imaginable. But beneath all this did they have a love of more than just duty...? 5th chapter updated
1. Beginnings

Hoary! I finally posted my KentxFiora fic! I've worked on this thing for more than an entire summer, and it could end up being the best thing I've ever written, or the worst thing I've ever written!

This fic is currently rated T, but later chapters may contain elements that will earn it an M rating. After all, this fic does contain a strong amount of violence, a decent amount of language, and some other things... (stares innocently off into space)

I do not own Fire Emblem or its respective characters.

That being said, this story begins during the 20th chapter of Eliwood's story, (the one where Ninian joins your party in case you forgot).

ONWARD!

It was late night in the town of Badon, roughly four or five hours before the sun would rise and almost every single person inside the city walls was dozing the night away. Not much had gone on earlier that day, except for the arrival of some travelers that had come back from a mysterious trip to Valor. Many of them were weary and they spent much gold to have rooms be made for all of them to stay the night. They had gone through many long, strenuous battles, and they were glad to be able to climb into the real bed of an inn, as opposed to the stiff, travel-sized mattresses that they had been forced to sleep upon for such a long time. Everyone was happily dreaming in the town, snoozing under soft blankets that kept them safe from the cool, costal night air. Well, most of them were asleep at least.

Because it was his shift, Kent had the job of being lookout tonight and sat lazily on the thatched roof of one of the inns. His lance was laid across his lap as he pondered why Mark had decided to post a watch tonight when he knew that everyone was bitterly exhausted and weary to the bone. Kent thought that it was unwise, and almost inhumane to post a night watch. But there was something pulling him back; a mild fear of how much damage would be done not just to them but to the people of this village if there were to be an attack in the night. So he did his duty without complaint.

He was wrapped in a blanket to help protect him from the chill of the night, and while his eyes always stayed on the alert, his mind was ablaze with many thoughts. _Why am I apart of this?_ He thought to himself. Of course that was a question he knew the answer to: because Lyn was apart of this. He was duty-bound to her. He was her best man, and she was his lord. He knew that Eliwood was the leader of this journey but Kent's true loyalty lied in Lyn; and if Lyn followed Eliwood, the he followed Lyn and therefore followed Eliwood as well. He knew that this journey had become very important as of late, in fact, the fate of the entire world rested upon their shoulders, but in such an extraordinary event, what good was he? He was highly skilled in combat, but he was only the steward to a young woman who would soon inherit Castle Caelin; which in terms of political standing, was a very minor player in the Lycian League. Eliwood on the other hand, had only recently lost his father to this whole situation, and was already more tied to this than anyone else. And Hector certainly should be involved here, as he was the brother of the lord of Ostia, the largest city in lycia, and the capitol of the nation. But aside from her friendship with Eliwood, why was Lyn along on this journey? In Kent's eyes, he thought it would be much better if they went home to Castle Caelin, and tried to rebuild and improve the location as it had gone through so much strife and trading of leaders.

Kent's thoughts were interrupted as he saw some tiny points of light in the distance, moving about a bit. "Curious." he said as he rose to his feet and threw the blanket off his shoulders. He grabbed his torch, igniting it with the flint and steel contraption on its handle, and raised the flame above his head for greater visibility. The small points of light froze in place one by one, and disappeared in the same manner. Bandits. The man in crimson armor extinguished his torch, and quickly grabbed his lance. Too fast. He lost his balance on the tilted surface of the roof and fell on his back, rolling and slipping down towards the edge of the roof. He flopped off the side of the building, unable to grab on to anything, and landed in a heap on the ground with a rather distinct 'thud'. Then his lance of steel, which he had dropped when he slipped, rolled off the roof, and landed flatly on his chest.

Mark, who had been sleeping right beneath Kent's vintage point, leaned out of the window and asked sleepily, "Kent? Did you fall off, or fall asleep and fall off?"

Kent was a rather battle hardened man, and falling off a two-story building onto soft, grass-covered ground did him little harm. His _lance_ however, had been a bit more unexpected, and it had knocked some of the wind out of him, but he was mostly alright. Slowly getting to his feet, Kent uttered in a low voice, "Mark! There are bandits out there! Judging by the torches, there's a fair sized battalion headed this way! They're a bit scattered about, and they probably won't arrive all at once, but they'll be here soon!"

"I'll wake up the troops; you get your horse and see if you can hold them off for a while." Mark replied, quickly snapping out of his drowsiness and into his role of the most peerless and cunning tactician any of them had ever know, "But be quiet until you engage the enemy! If the town folk wake up, we'll have more chaos than we can deal with." He was gone, and Kent headed for the stables.

Sticking close to the shadows and cursing at every clink of his armor, the cavalier quickly made his way to the stable as silently as he could manage. Once he reached the building that contained the various mounts of their group (five horses but only one Pegasus), he hopped on the saddle of his steed and made for the town gates; the direction he had seen the enemies approach from.

Kent instinctively began scanning various alleys and occasionally gave a glance to the wall around the border of the town. Kent had left his torch up on the roof of the inn, and though he knew that he needed it to see his opponents, he also knew that his offensive would be in vain if the enemies were able to easily spot him. For now darkness was his best friend and worst enemy, and the only illumination he had was from the crescent of the moon and he light of the stars. It wasn't long before he heard a noise off to his right, like someone had slipped and quickly regained their footing. He leaned in his saddle in the direction of the sound when he heard another noise off to his left. But this was not the sound of some clumsy stranger; this was the sound of an arrow that had whistled through the space his head had occupied one second earlier.

At this moment, a brigand sprang from the shadows of the alley Kent had been inspecting, and leapt at him with his axe overhead. In a fluid motion that he had practiced just incase such an enemy attempted this suicidal assault; Kent drew his sword, stabbed the man straight in the heart with enough force to knock him back, and withdrew his blade so he wouldn't fall off his horse. Reminded of the unseen archer with another distinct whistling past his cheek, Kent rode away from his current location. It wasn't long before he met with another enemy, this one a lance-wielding cavalier.

Sheathing his bloody sword, Kent grabbed his lance and began exchanging blows with his new opponent. They rode about in a wide circle trading blows side-by-side, all the while Kent tested this mans abilities to see how cautious he would have to be. He made made a vertical slash, and the man blocked horizontally; a horizontal slash, and a vertical block. As the rider held his lance pointed downward and held in front of him to halt Kent's attack, Kent pivoted his lance backward and caused the blunt end of his weapon to whack his opponent in the back of the head. The action angered Kent's opponent, and caused him to swipe back with his javelin horizontally. Kent had been expecting this, and simply leaned backward so the cut passed over his body, and he brought the cutting edge of his own lance outward and past his opponent, and pulled back on the shaft of his spear; effectively slicing the man across the stomach.

Clutching his bleeding abdomen in pain, the man dropped his lance and fell off his mount. As the horse ran away, the man spat at Kent before uttering from his bloody mouth through clenched teeth, "You _bastard_!" Kent decided to put the pitiful individual out of his misery and pierced him through the heart with his lance. As he bent down to do this, Kent accidentally avoided another arrow that went right through where his body had been just a moment before. It was followed in quick succession by another and another, the thin wooden shafts of death sticking into the ground around him.

Kent urged his horse to turn around and was about to make a break for it when the arrows that had been as relentless as rain, suddenly stopped. Kent would have thought nothing of it had it not been for another sound behind him, that of a low 'flop'. The noise repeated about 4 more times before Kent knew what it must have been; the falling of bodies.

Kent stood his ground for a moment, not moving a muscle and breathing in utter silence, always looking straight outward and seeing nothing. The only illumination available was that of the half moon, that was partially hidden in the clouds, and he could only guess as to what may lurk 30 feet away from him. He saw a slight blur of pale gray in the distance. The blur grew and turned white as though a distant white flame were slowly growing. Something came into sight so fast that Kent was only able to feel the hoof kick in his chest, and the pain that soon followed as he was knocked off of his horse to the ground. But perhaps by some form of instinctive reflexes he had subconsciously developed, Kent was able to get a faint idea of who is attacker was. A horse. A brilliant pearl white horse with vast, feathered wings, making it a Pegasus. He had almost instantly slammed into by one of the hooves but as he fell backward, he grasped for anything he could and his fingers found the blunt end of a lance that he held on to with all the strength he could muster.

So Kent found himself lying on his back on the ground, a tiny voice in the back of his head screaming for him to get up on his feet and face his enemy. He obeyed, and turned around to face this opponent with his lance in hand and waiting for an attack. It came sooner than he had expected, and Kent barely sidestepped out of the way of the thrust of the attacking lance. He knocked the piece of steel out of the way with his own and was in the process of mentally congratulating himself of pulling the Pegasus knight from their mount when his opponents lance sliced towards him diagonally and he blocked it just inches away from his face. Kent was a bit startled by this extreme agility, but instead of distracting him it encouraged him to go all out on this one.

It wasn't that Kent could not see his opponent; rather he didn't get a chance to get even a glimpse of the face, as his mind was too focused on the incredibly swift lance. Every attack Kent made was also a defensive block, and the same went for his opponent. Kent had usually gauged his enemies' skill level by the way they fought him, and he could therefore predict an outcome to a battle, but this enemy was different. They just kept advancing at an unbelievable rate, and Kent was for the first time in a long time searching for a way to gain the upper hand in this situation.

It was hard to think in the intensity of this duel but Kent's mind finally landed on a single advantage he knew his opponent did not have. He waited until his enemy made a diagonal slash from left to right, blocked it with his lance that he was holding with just his left hand, while he drew his sword with his right and pointed its tip at the spot he knew his opponents neck was at. Kent noticed however, that he could feel the sharpened point of a lance pointing to his own neck and there was silence and stillness. _This one is skilled. _He thought, _Well skilled._

"Your fighting capabilities are indeed remarkable, knight." Kent spoke to his adversary, for he knew that the only reasonable outcome to a standoff like this was by way of negotiations. "I congratulate your skill, and think that your abilities would be better off in the service of the troop I serve, what say you?"

"I say that your fighting skills are impressive in my eyes as well. But I also say that plundering a village in the middle of the night is bad enough, and I would rather die than join the ranks of a bunch of low-life brigands." Responded the voice of a woman. Kent's blade wavered. He had not been expecting to be fighting a female this whole time, and he began to question whose side this person was on. He could not see the the face of the person he was facing, but he at least knew where it was.

"Are you telling me that you are defending this village?" Kent inquired.

"I suppose you could say that." Was her reply.

"Then in that case," Kent spoke as he lowered his sword, "we are not enemies and should be fighting together, not against each other." He still had a point at his neck, but he was now a bit more confident in his situation. "If you trust me that is."

"I suppose I'll trust you... for now." She loudly clicked her tongue and there was the sound of soft hoof beats behind her. "But might I at least know your name?" she asked as she lowered her lance.

"Kent." The cavalier replied as he heard her grab something off of her saddle, "Might I ask yours?"

There was a brilliant point of light that shone in front of him, and Kent saw a woman clad in long combat boots and gloves and a white uniform with blue armor. In her left hand she held a lance, and in her right she held aloft a furiously burning torch that illuminated her figure quite effectively. She had shoulder-length aquamarine hair, and her eyes were a deep blue. "It's Fiora." she said.

Her face snapped to the left to look in that direction and Kent followed her gaze, and he saw a single knight. With a broad-headed lance in hand, his bulky armored form slowly made its way towards them. "I'll go first," Fiora whispered as she threw the torch aside and mounted up on her Pegasus, "Strike when you have an opening!"

Kent quickly sheathed his sword, hopped on his horse and rode off to the shadows where he hid as he watched Fiora swoop down and jab at the dreadnought's impenetrable armor again and again. She was doing little or no damage, but she had yet to be so much as scratched. It was obvious to Kent that Fiora was better on the back of her steed than on foot, and he suddenly wondered why he hadn't noticed her before. After a good minute or two, Kent guessed that the knight was entirely focused on Fiora, and decided to make his strike. He knew this was a huge gamble and a hard task to pull off but as far as he could see, this was the only way to take a knight down with his current variety of weapons.

He charged at the human wall from behind, and made a hard turn right, left, and left again. He was now moving full speed on a horse, with a fully armored knight just 90 degrees left of him, little more than a foot or two away. This was a gamble indeed. He lunged from his horse at the knight with his sword in hand, and landed with full force at the enemy's shoulders. The man inside the shell of armor didn't have time to be surprised. He lost his balance and fell with a loud crash on his back. The fellow then realized that his armor, which had once been a safe, portable castle, had turned into his heavy prison. The man screamed in terror as Kent brought his sword down, piercing it right through the thin visor. Blood soon started to seep from between the metal plates of the suit of armor that had now become a metal coffin.

Yanking his bloody sword from the slain enemy, Kent rose to his feet and looked over at Fiora. She walked over to him on foot with her Pegasus in tow and a smile on her lips; a gesture which he returned with a modest-looking one of his own. She then slapped him across the face. _What an arm she has!_ He thought as he held his hand to the side of his face in pain as he sputtered, "Father _Sky_! What was tha-"

"What are you trying to do, _impress _me?" She inquired in a very what-were-you-thinking tone, "You could have gotten yourself _killed _pulling a stunt like that!"

"Well what was I supposed to do?" He defended, still rubbing his face.

"How about use one of _these_?" She replied, throwing him a heavy spear, the very lance she had been holding this entire time.

"I didn't have one." He said as he looked down on the weapon in his hand.

"Then why did you go along with my plan of attack against a knight, if you were unprepared to fight one?" She asked. It was a question that Kent had no answer to. But she gave him a playful grin and said, "I'm just kidding. You did a great job of dispatching that guy. I thought it was really creative, if not a bit suicidal."

"Thanks... I guess." Kent said. "Well, I think that now we should probab- GET DOWN!" He yelled as he grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her to the ground with him. Her Pegasus and his horse must have understood because all four of them had ducked beneath the hail of arrows and javelins that had come out of nowhere.

From the shadows sprang numerous monks, brigands, archers, and nomads. A wyvern rider was perched atop a nearby wall, and there were about three more knights, one of which called, "They've killed Isaac! SLAY THEM!" The armored men started to advance at what seemed like a faster than normal (by knight standards) pace.

But a blinding point of light suddenly appeared in the middle of the air, illuminating practically the entire town. Kent and Fiora both turned as they heard someone yell, "LAUNCH!" behind them. They turned around just in time to witness Rebecca behind the controls of a ballista which let loose with a 3 inch thick bolt that shot forward just barely slow enough for them to track it. The wyvern that had been perched on the wall took the oversized arrow right in the chest and fell onto one of the knights; killing both him and it's rider at the same time.

The enemy troops were a bit baffled at this precise shot, and were awe struck for a second or two, just starring in amazement at the sudden death of two of their strongest units. They soon shook out of this daze as their leader, Oleg, ran up to the front lines and viewed the carnage in front of him. With his axe in hand, the warrior hollered in a deep booming voice, "I want them all to be begging for mercy before they die!" He then pointed to Rebecca in the distance, "And I want that bitch's head on a stick before _dawn_!" As he walked away behind the enemy lines, the red-armored opposition advanced towards Kent and Fiora.

Right on cue, a bolt of lightning and a black envoy of darkness engulfed the two knights as Erk and Canas ran forward muttering more incantations. Dart, Hector, Lyn, Guy, Raven, and Eliwood were all charging ahead of the three magic wielders (including Pricilla, who had been the one to activate her torch staff; the illumination of which practically turned night into day) with their weapons drawn and at the ready. And Mark, who was instructing Rebecca on how to reload the mechanical contraption before her, yelled to Kent and Fiora, "Quit _kissing_ and join the charge you two!" Ignoring their tacticians first comment, but obeying the second; they got to their feet, saddled up, and rode for the enemy lines.

It must have been quite a marvel to see, as everyone was putting their all into this fight. Erk, with his cape flying high, and Anima magic filling his body to the fingertips, would occasionally set an enemy or two on fire, covering them in an unquenchable flame. Canas would then finish them off by creating a bottomless void beneath them, which they'd fall screaming in agony and horror into before he sealed it up. Hector and Dart slew every wyvern rider and horse mounted solider in range and would occasionally take on a knight that had newly arrived. Pricilla was almost always following Hector around so she could heal him; the man was so reckless that he once during the fight tried to take on two knights at the same time on his own. Fortunately, Rebecca 'saved' (though Hector later called it 'interfered') Hector from this suicidal fight by launching a bolt right through both of the knights, turning them into a not-so-comical-looking human ca-bob. Eliwood and Raven were finishing off all the stranglers that were left by the others, but mostly guarding against the few enemies that tried to attack the group from the rear. Lyn and Guy were practically dancing as they weaved their way through many of the monks. Dodging magic, slicing flesh and bone alike, and advancing all at the same time. As far as dancing went, Ninian was right in the middle of the fight, spinning and twirling the whole time in ways that not only mysteriously gave added strength to the party, but allowed her to dodge the few projectiles or weapons that came into striking distance of her. Kent and Fiora however, were moving about so quickly that they spent most of their time _inside_ of the enemy ranks; carving wakes of death through their various formations like a scissor cuts through paper in an children's 'Arts and Crafts' class. It was a gruesome, but well earned victory.

The natural light of the morning revealed the carnage of last night's battle. The air stank of the blood and guts of the nocturnal attackers, which had originally planned on a having an easy time raiding this small town of whatever gold and women it had to offer. Those of the company that were waking up were outside being informed of what had gone on, and being told why they were piling corpses outside of town for a burning; not the best way to start the morning. As Hector boasted about how he had single handedly chopped a wyvern clean in half right down the middle (though no one had actually seen it), Rebecca withdrew the last of her arrows from Oleg's head, and Pricilla and Serra attended to the wounded as best they could, Mark took Kent and Fiora aside from the rest of the group.

"I really must thank you two for fending off the enemies until the rest of us could get suited up and ready for battle." Mark started, "However, I know that I sent _you_ off to engage them Kent, but I don't recall even _seeing_ you last night before the battle started Fiora."

"Yeah." Kent added, "There was only one pegasus in the stable if my memory serves me right. I didn't think much of it at first, but I do know that the Pegasus in there was Florina's."

"Well," Fiora explained, "I knew that everyone was thoroughly exhausted with all the physical and psychological stress that most of us went through on Valor. So I figured that it would be best if I, being a newer addition to this group, stood watch as a 'safety net' in case the posted watch understandably dozed off. I just kept my Pegasus out here so I could act quickly if there was an attack."

"Well thank you for the help." Kent said with respect (though he was secretly a little insulted at being thought of as the type to fall asleep when posted as night watcher), "Had it not been for you, I probably would have fallen victim to the arrows of that archer that you slew."

"Actually there were about five archers," Fiora corrected, "and _two_ of them were able to get you within their sights before I was able to engage them as well."

"FIVE!" Mark exclaimed, "You mean to tell me that you; a Pegasus knight with a natural weakness against arrows, dispatched _five_ archers on your own in the _dark_!"

"Hey," Fiora protested to the obviously impressed tactician, "you should have seen Kent earlier! Tell him all about it Kent."

As modestly as he could, Kent depicted the events that followed after he took leave of Mark last night. Fiora must have been able to see in the dark, because she confirmed everything that he said as being true. "...And I stabbed him through the visor." Kent continued his story, "That's about the time that Fiora and I had a small _discussion_," He then rubbed the spot on his face where she had smacked him and gave her an if-you-know-what-I-mean look, which she giggled at, "which was cut short by the sound of arrows that I heard. I pulled her down with me just as a good sized volley of them, as well as a few javelins, went over our heads."

"He truly did save my life." Fiora commented with a respectful voice.

"It was nothing, really!" Kent said, being the type of man who was allergic to greed and too much glory, "Besides, both of us would have been dead had it not been for the reinforcements that you brought at that point Mark."

"I just did what I had to, it was nothing special." Mark shrugged, "But more importantly, I have one thing that I must know: do you enjoy one another's company; on the battlefield or otherwise?"

"On and off of it sir." Kent said with a shrug.

"Same here." Fiora added.

"FABULOUS!" Mark cried in delight, "This is a very happy day for me! Come! Let me show you my plan." He then ran across the street and into the inn that he was lodged at, beckoning them to follow.

As Kent and Fiora walked through the door of the building, Fiora asked, "Do you have any idea what he's up to?"

"None whatsoever." He replied.

In Mark's room, he pulled up a table in front of the two soldiers. From the table, he pulled out a large sheet of paper, a glass bottle of ink, and a quill. "Let's say that this sheet of paper is our battlefield, and this," He drew a large circle on the left side of the paper, "represents our forces. And over here," He drew a large "X" on the right side of the paper, "is the enemy. Now usually in a situation like this, both forces charge head on at one another, and duke it out right in the middle of the battleground. RRRRRRGGHHH!" He yelled through clenched teeth as he furiously scribbled in the middle of the 'battlefield'. He then pointed to the large scribble and declared, "Blood and guts everywhere, a big, mindless, confusing melee which revolves around brute force, and not much else. But following my new tactic..." he drew a long arrow that led from the circle to the 'X', "we send out two soldiers ahead of everybody else to engage the enemy first. The idea is that these two individuals wreck more than havoc on the opposing forces, weakening and distracting them. Then when the enemies see the rest of us coming, they'll be expecting more opponents that are as powerful as the two that they already have their hands more than full with. When the rest of our forces attack, we will meet units that are out of formation, distracted, low on morale and less in numbers than they were before! An easy victory every time!"

Kent and Fiora just stood and stared in amazement at their combat instructor's idea. Finally after taking all of this in, Fiora said as she scratched her head, "So you're saying: these two soldiers are Kent and I?"

"Precisely that!" the green-clad genius declared.

"This looks like it would work..." Kent said hesitantly as neither him nor anyone else in the group knew too much about military tactics, "but, do you mean to say that it would be just Fiora and I?"

"Well," Mark said, "let me put it this way: I needed soldiers that met very specific requirements for this idea to become a reality. First off, they needed to be mounted on a horse or Pegasus, as speed is a key element here. That disqualifies a good majority of our group. Then they need to be extraordinarily strong to begin with, which disqualifies Lowen and, no offense intended Fiora, but your sister as well."

"I understand." She said gloomily with a shrug of acceptance. She had nothing but the deepest respect for her dear little sister, but the fact remained that Florina just wasn't very good at combat.

"Good." Mark continued, "Then they needed to also have great _potential_ for fighting skill which counts out Marcus, who, despite his exceptional fighting capabilities, is at the top of his game right now. By my reckonings, we'll be on this journey for a long time and Marcus is only just above where the rest of you are now in terms of skill. Everyone will soon surpass him, and our enemies will as well. Then I disqualified Sain because as you know all too well Kent, he does have a tendency to goof off on the battlefield."

"I can understand your thinking perfectly sir." Kent replied. Sain was his friend, but his occasional love-sick, and sometimes foolish nature were major drawbacks of his combat skills.

"Excellent." Mark continued, "Then taking into consideration that Pricilla is a healer, and would be better off in the bulk of our forces, away from the distant front lines: I was left with you two. And since you both either meet, or excel all of the requirements, I had only to know whether you two got along well, as teamwork is also one of the major elements. As such I'll be reassigning you both to the same tent, to emphasizing on positive relations. You will be working together a lot, it would be best to get to know one another better."

With her eyes pointed downward, and her hand to her chin, Fiora stated, "Hmmmmm... that's a pretty big rule we're ignoring."

"What rule?" Kent asked as he stared off into space with an inconspicuous look on his face. He understood what she meant perfectly.

"I know this is a lot to ask, and I know that you two will be in the most risky combat situations, but I would not present this idea to you two unless I was certain that you were able to take up the task. So; do we have an agreement?" Mark asked.

"Ummmmmmmmm... Alright!" Fiora piped.

"Same here." Kent added. They all shared a three-way hand-shake.

"Well I better get my belongings together." Fiora concluded.

"I'd better do the same." Kent stated.

As they started to leave Mark sputtered, "Oh, yeah! Just one little unimportant thing... I'd like to apologize for the... 'kissing' remark earlier, I just couldn't resist!"

With a laugh Fiora said, "Don't sweat it Mark, we know it was a _joke_!" Kent gave a low chuckle as he shook his head from side to side and closed the door. Mark was left alone in his room.

"He! This is going to turn out better than I could have hoped." Mark said after a long while as he got out of his chair and walked outside to see how the others were doing.

It was a time of great relevance and the setting of things to come. But it was all only a memory now, for it had all happened a couple of months ago...

FIN!

Well, I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to get chapter 2 polished up and ready in roughly one or two weeks, but as far as I can see it may take a bit longer than that.

I know that I haven't emphasized too much on the love story going on here in this chapter, but if this fic turns out the way I plan, then most of that stuff will go on during chapters 2 and above.

R&R, or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same.


	2. Standard tactic?

Here we are again! The second installment of Irony! This chapter is a bit shorter than the first, but it's still a relatively long one! I just love long fics!

Just so you're not lost, this chapter starts on chapter 27 of Eliwood's story (the one where Vaida joins your party).

I do not own Fire Emblem or its respective characters.

ONWARD!

Ever since that day Kent and Fiora had always worked together. They soon became close friends and spent so much time together that one would think they were having a relationship of sorts. However no one thought such things nor spread such rumors; Kent and Fiora were perhaps the most duty-bound members of the group, and they were considered the last people in their army who would have a good idea as to what love was.

One thing was for certain, no one worked together as perfectly as they did. And while no rumors were spread about the possibility of them having a relationship, there were a few jokes made about them being one single person. Like if one of them were to perhaps die, lose a limb, or become severely wounded, then the other would follow the same fate at exactly the same moment; regardless of their health.

But for the time being, the party was fighting their way to the Shrine of Seals so that they would be one step closer to acquiring weapons powerful enough to defeat Nergal. It was intended to be an easy trip, but the remnants of the Black Fang decided to make this place their last ditch attempt at revenge for the spilt blood of their many comrades and leaders. No one in the group wanted to fight this battle, but they all knew that it must be done. Kent and Fiora were the first to depart from the rest of the group as usual, to meet the enemy head on. But this time around the distance they had to cross was much greater than usual, and to conserve the energy of their beasts, they moved along at a steady trot as opposed to a full on gallop, and they had some time to talk a bit.

"How do you think we shall fare this time?" Kent asked, trying to keep up the conversation they had been having, after leaving camp, about the moral values of the rest of the group.

"Well, I think that our chances of surviving are rather good." Fiora explained, "But considering the way that the people we will be fighting know that their organization is scattered and no longer as strong as it used to be, they know that they have nothing to lose. They are not fighting to fulfill orders, they are fighting for revenge. This may be more difficult than we anticipate."

"We should indeed be careful as always, but is that doubt that I detect in your voice, Fiora?" Kent responded to his comrade. She shrugged.

"I suppose that I'm just a bit in awe at the will of some people. Kent, you are fighting for Caelin, as well as Lycia. And I'm fighting for Illia, and we are both doing our best to defend our countries, but these people belong to no one country. What must it be like to fight for no country, and just for revenge? It saddens me sometimes to know what these people are going through. But if I think about that and show mercy to those who will spare me none, then I may end up dead. But I will have died defending my country. They will have died for nothing."

"It is indeed odd what some people will fight for but please Fiora, do not let your thoughts dwell on the possibility of your own death." Kent insisted, "Think of how what we are doing is for the greater good. It is sad that we must spill the blood of those who are not our enemy, but it must be done. There is no other way. Not to say that I do not question the means to an end, but our only other option is to do nothing and allow Nergal to feed off the quintessence of the innocent. Either way these people will die, but at least they will not have died at the hands of a mad man."

"I share your opinion Kent, and I will not let my thoughts linger on my own death or yours or Mark's or anyone else's." Fiora assured him as they entered a grassy valley between two mountain ranges. They both instantly began scanning the various peaks for any signs of enemy snipers, and there was silence between them for a short while as their concentration lay upon the brown jagged rocks that reached so high.

"I'm glad to know that you're looking out for me." Kent said after a while. "I honestly can't imagine working so well with anyone else. Thank you for all you've done."

She laughed and spoke, "Kent, it still amazes me how many times you can take the words right out of my mouth. Thank you as well- I see them too!" They had both stopped for just over the small hill they were climbing was a small mass of clustered red bodies. "Armored knights." Fiora declared, making good use of her extraordinary eyesight. "Four small ones, one big. Look's like they have some friends farther away though. Standard tactic?"

"Sure. We don't have any snow to get in our way this time, and the sun will provide us with all the illumination we need, which will be a nice change from our past battles. Wouldn't you say?" Kent commented.

"I hear you." Fiora responded as she rolled her eyes in memory of the last few battles the party had been involved in. They had gone through freezing cold snow, a dark palace which required them to always be wary of innocent bystanders, and a flooded temple with disappearing bridges which made their trek to Sonia even more difficult as she hailed down lightning on all of their heads. "I'll see you in a short while." She finished as she rode off and took flight, hidings behind the mountains.

Kent tightened the grip on his spear, put on his helmet, and charged forward. His opponents were too far away for him to make an effective surprise attack, and they were quick to spot him. Their bulky armored forms rose from where they had been sitting in wait, tallest among them a general, who with long heavy chains hanging at his sides, and easily standing twice the height of a man held aloft a massive steel axe, which looked like it must have weighed some 200 pounds. As Kent hurried the stallion beneath him the knights backed away from the general to give him room for his massive assault.

The towering dreadnought took a step back, and flung his enormous weapon right at Kent when he was some 20 yards away. The paladin had been expecting this, and knew that everything was now counting on his timing, and calculations of distance. He leaned out of the path of the large bladed piece of metal, thrust with his spear right as one of the links in the chain, and broke it. He grabbed for the end of the chain with the axe, and began to swing it in a wide arc, knowing that his strength alone would not be enough to carry it. He continued to furiously keep up the speed of the axe and keeping a tight grip on the reigns of his horse, knowing that he only had to hold on to make things work. It was no easy task, and he had to move his entire body to keep with the rhythm of the circular motion. The other end of the heavy chain fell on his left shoulder; giving him a massive bruise and a large dent in his armor. But he kept on riding, swinging the axe furiously to keep ahold of it, until he got within range and let it go. He flung the axe right at one of the knights, hitting it with enough force for an instant death, and Kent charged right at the enormous general making a large slash with his spear, but all he made was scrape against the impenetrable armor.

He road past the towering individual, knowing that he'd have to rethink his strategy later. He spotted ahead of him a knight that was turning around to retreat after seeing what had happened to the one that Kent had slew with the enormous axe, but this made his job only easier. He thrust his lance outward as he charged at the knight from behind and just skimmed along it's left shoulder until he hit the back of the chest mounted shield that accounted for much of a knights protection and knocked it off him. He thrust backward with his spear once he passed the knight to pierce through the considerably thinner armor. He had no time to look back to see if he had gotten the kill he wanted, for a nearby knight had hurdled a javelin at him. Kent unslung the crimson shield from his back onto his left arm, and held it at a sharp angle so the projectile was deflected away from him.

For a long time Kent fought in this manner, all the while wondering where Fiora was until he finally spotted her out of the corner of his eye swooping down on a nomad who had apparently expended all of his arrows. He reasoned that she had been holding the enemies at bay from him for quite some time, and he might have been overwhelmed at this point without her help. He continued to kill off the knights one by one and occasionally a brigand or myrmidon that came too close, until he was left with only the general, who had been slowly following him around with a silver-tipped lance in hand all this time. Kent decided to make his charge, as foolish as it was, but he may become lucky and find a way to defeat the giant.

The end of Kent's spear was beginning to dull, but he figured it might last just a bit longer. Still, he charged forward at the General, and watched as his enemy brought his spear around behind him. Kent kept on going, new that this was all psychological, and watched as the towering individual brought his lance forward in the beginning of a large sweeping motion. Kent ducked, and deflected the swipe upward with his shield in an attempt to knock his opponent off balance, but he did not budge. With what precious time he had, Kent got right up to his enemy and started thrusting as fast as he could as every space between the armor, but his attacks found no mark. He saw the general bring his weapon around for another swipe at him, and Kent was about to run for it when he noticed a long brown shaft sticking out between the generals helmet and left shoulder plating. He watched as the armored individual toppled to the ground.

Kent looked up to see Fiora high in the air waving her lance down at him just before she dove down on the head of another hapless brigand. He returned the gesture. "Fiora," The paladin said, even though he knew she couldn't hear him, "Thanks for always looking out for me." His moment of thought was interrupted as he sighted an enemy sniper aiming high in the air. Kent didn't need to _see_ who the bowman was aiming for; he just needed to eyeball the distance and hurdle his spear at the one who he knew was a plausible threat to his comrade.

As she looked for another target, Fiora noticed the freshly slain former-archer, whose bloody torso was located about halfway down the shaft of a lance. "Kent." She said with a smile as she careened toward another axe-wielding cutthroat, "Thanks for always looking out for me." In one effortless motion, she swung her sword through her enemy, and pulled back on the reins to soar almost straight up; the wind of her speed almost _washing_ her blade clean of blood. Her unfortunate foe's head and left arm fell to the ground against his lifeless body.

As Fiora started to gain altitude, she heard a faint whirling noise somewhere behind her. She turned around just in time so see a hand-axe slice across her right calf, cutting through the leather of her boot, and making a rather long gash across her leg. She quickly leaned off to her left to avoid further damage from the spinning blade, and it passed harmlessly over her. She quickly assessed the damage on her leg, just as a fine line of red started to seep from the blue leather of her boot. It hurt, but the pain was bearable and she knew that no bones had been broken, so she could continue attacking in this manner.

Her eyes looked past her leg and down onto the ground where she spotted the hand-axe flying back into the hands of a berserker. The muscle-bound warrior hurdled his weapon up at her, and Fiora swerved out of it's path, then swooped down at the man with all possible speed. The man without a weapon got down on the ground so his Pegasus riding opponent could not take a swing at him without crashing into the dirt. He looked to the skies in case the Pegasus knight decided to hurdle a javelin at him, but he just saw his winged opponent swoop down, but pull up at the last moment and fly off into the distance. The man with horns on his helmet jumped to his feet and hollered after her, "HA! Ye' cowardly bitch of a whore! I ought to fu- AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGH!" The hand-axe that he had thrown had come spinning back to him, burying itself between his shoulder-blades with enough force to knock him to his knees. Kent then came riding up behind him, and chopped the man's head off with his red axe as he followed Fiora's lead.

Kent then charged at and, with the might of his horse alone, trampled to death a warrior that had been desperately trying to switch from his bow to his axe before the paladin reached him (the warrior had shot an arrow at Fiora from behind, which she blocked with her Delphi Shield without even looking). The warrior just wasn't fast enough. "FIORA!" Kent hollered to his comrade high in the sky as he traded his axe for his silver lance, "HAVE THE OTHER'S ARIVED YET?"

"THEY'RE JUST NOW COMING THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS!" She replied ass her body was covered in a blue light that made the cut on her leg partially heal up. It was all thanks to the psychic staves the party had found on Valor, and while they could not permanently heal a wound, (that job was better suited for staves that worked right on a wound rather than at a distance) in the hands of someone like Pricilla they were invaluable. Kent turned his head to see Hyperion, Heath's loyal wyvern, drop Dart, who was holding Lyn under one arm and Guy under the other, on the head of some poor knight who obviously didn't survive the crash. Well, in truth, the knight _did_ survive the crash, but had his skull smashed in by Dart's hammer once the mighty berserker had dropped his living cargo.

As Dart unleashed himself on two lance-wielding generals, Guy began hacking and hewing the ranks of mercenaries and myrmidons with reflexes quicker than lightning, as Lyn covered him with her small bow and deadly accuracy. On the battlefield, lightning was not only present in Guy's movements, but millions of volts of the stuff was surging through the bodies of five cavaliers and there mounts who had dared to attack Erk and Pricilla while they were aware of their presence. Raven, with a silver edged sword in hand, was finishing off an enemy fighter with unbelievable ease, as he whipped around just in time to knock away an arrow that had been speeding towards him. Sheathing his sword, Raven reached for his hand-axe, which he flung with such force that it cut its way right through the targeted sniper, and lodged itself firmly in a nearby boulder. Hector, with his great, towering axe, simply walked in a straight line, leaving behind him a bloody trail of the bodies of mercenaries, paladins, and generals; all of which were cloven in two. Ninian was once again dancing in the center of the entire battle field, while Eliwood always stayed near her, eager to put a hole through anyone who got too near him or the one that he had gown more than a little fond of. Rebecca was obviously angering Mark once again, as she had the tendency to stray towards the front lines. She wasn't in much danger however; the green-haired sniper had perfected her archery skills so well, that she could have 3 well-aimed arrows in the air at a time, moving towards 3 different targets, and they were all shot separately. Canas however was a different story all together. He sat high atop a mountain, reading a book, with Mark beside him, occasionally telling him where he wanted an eclipse spell placed. Karel was with the group as well, but he obeyed hardly any commands, moving towards the densest concentrations of enemy troops. Once he had thoroughly slain them, he moved on to the next cluster, leaving a thick mist of blood behind him. Jaffar went about in much the same way as Karel, only no one saw him, and he preferred to take his opponents one by one as he sliced them in quarters. Having their comrades being mercilessly and brutally torn apart in front of them must have been a very horrible thing to see before they too met the same grotesque fate. From both of these seemingly soulless men there was no mercy, nowhere to hide, and no time to scream. As Louise went about in a manner much like Rebecca, her nearby husband, Pent, had jumped up onto the shoulders of a general. He then placed his palms on the eye holes of the helmet and sent some magic from his elfire tome through the armor, burning the yelling man inside alive with a flame so hot, that his armor was fused into one solid piece.

When the final henchman had been killed, everyone gathered around their final opponent, Linus. He saw what his odds were, and he knew that he was not in the greatest of situations, but he still declared in a loud voice, "You may very well kill me, but on account of the fact that you have killed my brother, I am determined to slaughter as many of you as I possibly can! Whether you surrender or fight, I shall send you to burn in the fires of Hell all the same!" Rushing towards Guy first, the two of them mostly missed with every swing of their swords as they dueled in front of the others. Guy was nimble enough to dodge any bladed weapon, but when he tried to _strike_ his opponent with a killing move, his blade was always propelled back by some unseen force. Eventually, Linus somehow conjured up some light magic from the tip of his sword, and let it loose on Guy who took it full on and was thrown through the air into the wall. Guy never did like magic, and he was anything but immune to the stuff.

"That's an Iron Rune that he's got!" Mark exclaimed in amazement as he pointed to the small emblem affixed to Linus's shield. The man known as the Mad Dog ran towards Guy's unconscious body. He was stopped however, by the sheer surface area of Hector's axe, which he had promptly swung down in between them. Linus retaliated by bashing Hector in the head five times in two seconds with his shield and knocked the blue haired great lord out before he could reach for his sword. The leader of the Black Fang brought up his blade to behead his fallen opponent when Erk let loose with a ball of fire on him. The hero spun about and absorbed the blow with his shield, causing its surface to burst into flames. He threw this flaming object directly at Mark, whose robes caught on fire. As the others helped slap out the flames on their tactician, Fiora came flying towards the man who had caused enough damage, moving at a speed that broke the sound barrier. With her lance in hand, her opponent rooted to the ground in a defensive stance, and everybody's ear-drums ringing, Fiora sped towards Linus head-on. In a series of movements far too fast for anyone to see, Linus jumped over the Pegasus and its rider. Fiora swung back at him with her lance but missed, and Linus kicked her square in the back of her right shoulder despite her goddess-like abilities. The kick had enough force behind it to shatter her bones, and send Fiora off her mount, and crashing to the stone floor; her weapon knocked from her hand.

Most of the others were either unconscious, too busy preventing the fires on Mark from spreading any further, or clutching their ears in agony to notice that Linus was advancing on Fiora's crippled form. She found herself looking down the blade of a sword that had been placed just a hair's width from the bridge of her nose. "Fine," he said as he brought his hand back to shove his blade forward, "I'll finish you off fi-!" The silver-tipped end of a spear stuck out from the Mad Dog's left eye, as a trickle of blood began to flow down his face. Fiora saw the very faintest of smiles take form on the man's mouth as he began to fall off to the side, his sword still clutched firmly in his hand for some reason that was beyond mortal keen.

"Kent," Fiora said in a soft voice she saw her comrade pull his spear out of the skull of the man who had almost ended her life, "what took you so long?" She then lost consciousness from a combination of pain, exhaustion of fighting all day, and the mental stress involved in a near death experience.

Kent dropped his bloody spear on the ground as he said in a low voice, "Fiora, you didn't expect me to not show up, did you?" He then fell off his horse and collapsed to the floor for many of the same reasons that Fiora had. But for him, it wasn't that he had had a near death experience, it was shock of the fact that he had so directly saved someone's life: his friend's life.

FIN!

Well that was violent wasn't it! Your probably wondering about now why this story was labeled under the category of 'Romance', as so far it has been a war fic, but fear not KentFiora fans! The 'love' part of this love story will soon become evident in the next chapter. And this time, I'm not lying! Chapter 3 up in 2 weeks or less!

R&R or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same!


	3. Pain, passion, and policy making

Here we are at the third chapter! You may be receiving this one earlier than you anticipated, but that's because it had already been written a long time ago. For those of you who disapproved of the violence in the previous chapters, you should know that there's even MORE in this one! Just kidding! What this chapter does have is some humor!

We'll pick this chapter up a bit after where we left off in the story in the last chapter. Enjoy!

I do not own Fire Emblem or it's respective characters.

ONWARD!

Fiora woke up in the medical tent for what seemed like the first time in years. Pricilla's head was hovering over her as she said in her happy, song-like voice, "Good morning sleepy head! Actually, I should probably be saying 'good night' as it's rather late right now; the sun went down about two hours ago. We were getting a bit worried about you when you didn't wake while we brought you down here."

"Sorry about over-sleeping." Fiora said with a yawn as she slowly sat herself up on the bed and rubbed her shoulder. "How are Mark and Kent and the others?" She asked.

"_I'm_ over here!" came a voice to Fiora's left. There Mark sat, with his right arm in a sling hung around his neck. "_SHE_," He yelled in an aggravated voice, pointing his free hand at Pricilla, who was currently stationed at a small desk reading an Elfire tome as she ignored Mark's words, "says that while I may be very 'sound of mind', I'm not very 'sound of body'. She tells me that even though she applied her stave to my burnt arm, it must still be immobilized for a good couple of hours before it's 'fully healed'! She also claims that you 'sound of body' folk receive the effects of a healing stave more thoroughly than 'mute of body' folk like I do!"

"Though in my opinion; I think you're just being a whiner." came Serra's high pitched voice from a nearby corner where she sat in a chair filing her nails, "But to answer the more_ important_ part of your question: Pricilla and I applied our staves to Hector, though I think it was a waste of time. The big oaf must hold the continental record for 'thickest skull'!"

"Linus may very well have killed me," Mark whispered to Fiora, "as being stuck in here with _that_ thing," he nodded in Serra's general direction, "has so far been like living in Hell!"

"I _heard_ that!" The pink-haired cleric practically screamed, before resuming her story, "As for Guy, Pricilla must have used all twenty bursts on her mend stave before he finally convinced her that he was just fine. I mean, the man was in rather good condition-"

"HE WAS ABOUT TO _DIE_!" Pricilla yelled in a furious, almost brutal voice, the flames of the magic from the book she had been studying burning in her eyes. She had never been known to raise her voice, or display magic uncontrollably as anger was considered to be an emotion she was incapable of expressing. As everyone stared at her, her eyes quickly faded back to their usual mossy green before she began to blush with a redness that was as radiant as her hair. She then headed for the exit of the tent at a noticeably hurried pace.

"...Anyway," Serra continued with her devilish I-have-no-choice-but-to-make-assumptions look distinctive on her mouth and in her eyes that stayed fixed on the flaps of the tent, "I personally think that all Guy needed was a good wake-up call. And Eliwood and Nils are still more than unconscious; we don't know when they'll wake up."

"What happened to Eliwood and Nils?" Fiora asked Mark.

Mark told her about how Athos, as well as Nergal, had warped in. How Ninian had put herself in Nergal's custody to save the rest of the party. And how Nergal had left with a huge blast of his energy. "He'll be a tough opponent," Mark finished, "but I think that we may be able to take him. Oh, and Kent is just fine. The man should be in your tent by my reckonings."

"Good," Fiora said as she got off the small bed and headed for the entrance, "I need to thank him, and we need to know who has the higher kill count."

"I'll see you in the morning Fiora!" Serra cried in her naturally shrill voice.

As Fiora walked out into the cool night air, she heard Mark say in a not-so-low voice, "Now I know what Erk must have felt like while he was escorting this witch." This comment was followed by a low whacking noise as Mark cried, "Ouch! That thing is for _healing_, not _harming_!"

"Don't talk that way about me or my Erky-poo!" Sarra yelled in a very offended voice as another distinct whacking noise was heard.

As Fiora walked the path towards her tent, she took a moment to gaze up at the star-dotted sky. She found it odd how there was an occasional blur across the brilliant light of the full moon. She made a mental note of the curious phenomenon, and decided to ask Kent about it later.

As she walked, she noticed Rebecca a distance off to her left, under a tree, talking with Wil. Fiora was a bit surprised when she saw Wil suddenly clasp Rebecca's hands in his own and she stopped in her tracks to see what was going on. "Rebecca..." Fiora heard him say in a slow, serious voice, "I never got the chance... to say this... And I know it seems sudden, but Rebecca... I... I've always..." he let out a short, distinct breath as he closed his eyes, dropped her hands and turned away. As he walked off, with his eyes closed as tight as his fists in what seemed like frustration, he appeared to silently mouth out the word 'coward'. Rebecca was left looking half confused, and half sad and disappointed. Fiora walked on. A blind man could have seen what had gone on.

Fiora was just a few feet away from her destination when a bit of moonlight shone into her eye. She looked over to see Hector peering around the corner of his own tent in a direction off to Fiora's right. The moonlight had reflected off his armor that he insisted on wearing at all times (it was even rumored that he slept in it). He suddenly looked up right at her, his eyes slightly bulged as if in surprise before he turned around and quickly walked away. Considering this to be a bit suspicious, Fiora looked down the main aisle of tents in the direction Hector had been looking. She saw nothing. Only her sister Florina in her tent talking with... Lyn... who was wearing a two pice pajama outfit that left little to the imagination. Fiora decided to mentally draw the line here, and walked into hers and Kent's tent before her curiosity caused her to 'spy' on any other peoples affairs.

"Fiora!" Kent greeted her happily as she walked through the flaps of their tent. He was laying back on his bed when she came in but stood up to greet her once he noticed her. He was dressed in his usual combat attire only without any of the armor (which was uniformly stacked in a corner) and was able to go without shoes as their tent was located right on top of some healthy, soft grass. It was his casual dress that reminded Fiora that she was still clothed in her entire combat uniform. "I was hopping you'd show up sooner or later." he said as she spun her finger in a circle to signal that he needed to turn around. "How's your shoulder?" Kent asked with his back to her.

"Well, after being treated to a few charges of a mend stave in the expert hands of someone like Pricilla; my shoulder feels fine. It still sting's a tiny bit, but it's nothing serious. I should be over it by tomorrow morning. Oh, and my leg's completely healed." Fiora explained as she removed her gloves. "By the way, thanks for saving my life... again." she added.

"Oh, it was nothing special." Kent replied as she began to work on the buckles of her belt and boots behind him.

"Oh but it _was_!" Fiora countered, "I mean; I still can't understand how when Linus was dueling with Guy, Guy couldn't come close to him with his blade; like he was being repelled by some unseen force. And yet _you_ pierced him so easily. How was that possible?" She had momentarily stopped changing as she sat down on her bed side and stared at the back of his head; waiting for a response.

"Well," he said with a shrug, "I don't understand it very well, but Mark said it had something to do with an 'Iron Rune': a magic emblem that protects the user from moves like the ones Guy specializes in. He said that this 'Iron Rune' had been attached to Linus' shield, and when Linus threw his shield at him, the 'Iron Rune' could no longer protect Linus. Now I don't know much about magic, but I think I was just lucky to attack when I did. Besides, given the tallied up number of times we've 'saved each others lives' I'd say we're even now."

"I still think you best me in that respect." Fiora commented while undoing the straps of her upper-body armor, "After all, it's one thing for you to slay an archer that might have targeted me if they got the chance; but it's an entirely different thing for you to kill the leader of the Black Fang while I am at the very edge of his blade. And without your help; at his nonexistent mercy as well."

"Well, all the same." Kent replied with his back still loyally facing her as she changed out of her combat suit and into her soft pants and shirt, which were little more than a light pajamas, "By the way, speaking of tallies; this battle I delivered the finishing blow to 8 enemy soldiers, leaving my final count at 156."

"I bested you this battle; I am sitting on 13 kills." she said as she began folding and stacking her discarded armor and clothing, "However, this also leaves _my_ total score at 156 as well."

"I wouldn't prefer it any other way." Kent spoke with a smile as Fiora tapped him on his shoulder: the signal that she had finished changing.

Fiora then sat on her bedside, removed the string that bound her hair, and began to brush her millions of aquamarine strands with a small wooden comb as she mentioned, "By the way, have you seen the moon lately? There seemed to be some odd blurs going across its face."

"Oh, that." Kent said with a chuckle as he sat on his bedside so that they were now facing each other from across their small tent, "Such a beautiful night sky, and to think that it's actually raining!"

"What do you mean?" she inquired as she stopped brushing her hair.

"Well, that is indeed the moon," Kent began, "but the blurs that go past its face are probably glimmers of Athos' magic. The Archsage decided to stay with us for a while, and he set up some sort of magical barrier around the entire encampment. One of the benefits is that the barrier allows us to view the night sky even when it's cloudy, and it protects us from bad wheather. But the main reason he put it up was because it won't let anything through it, so we didn't have to post a night watch. It's emitted from some magical orb that Athos keeps with him at all times. I have absolutely no idea how the thing works, and when I asked Pent about it, he said that its workings were so complex that I would have to know how to receive his 'telepathic' signals in order for him to explain it to me. I still don't know what he means by 'telepathic', but the bottom line is; as long as Athos is with us, everybody gets a full night sleep!"

"Well," Fiora said with a confused look, "that's a lot to take in, but I'm not complaining!" she piped with a happy smile. _This is going to be very good for the rest of the party! _she thought. After all it _had_ taken a long time for everyone's sleeping patterns to get back to normal after the party had been attacked in the night at Baddon, and after they had rescued Prince Zephiel from his assassination-attempt.

"Oh, and this is something rather minor;" Kent started out, "but remember that whole thing I was telling you about earlier today? About how 'the thoughts of the men and women in this army are altogether too intimate'?"

"Yes." she replied with a nod.

"Well... you can forget about all that." he said with a shrug, "I don't know why I brought that up; maybe it was because Sain had been a bit more himself than usual this morning..."

"Ah, no, no, no." Fiora protested waving her hand a bit, "No, I think you were quite right. That is... well... maybe I should just tell you..." She then began to depict the various things she had bore witness to during the evening. Everything from Pricilla's outburst, to Hector's 'peeping' incident. She didn't tell him about Serra's fondness for Erk however. Too many people including themselves were already aware of this small reason for why so few people wanted to be Erk (including Erk himself!). "...and that's about the time that I decided to get in here before my curiosity could take ahold of me again." She wrapped up. "Oh, and now that I've told you all of this, it might be best to make it a rule to keep these things that I've learned a secret."

"Great," Kent groaned with a playful smile, "more things we have to ignore!"

"Yes exactly!" Fiora said with a hearty laugh, "But I think that we should do something about this. Shall we set up the stationary and such?"

"Yes, let's." He agreed. They set up the fold-up table and two chairs side-by-side (inventions of Marks'). Once they sat their lantern up on the table for optimized visibility, their pegasus quills (which were shed by Fiora's steed and not bought from a store) raced across various sheets of paper as they wrote out all of the names of the party members, then divided those names into lists of their respective genders. They spent the next couple of hours ("So much for everybody getting a full nights sleep!" Fiora noted as they both laughed.) comparing the number of tents as in comparison with the number of people and all of the ways they could be divide into groups, considering all possible combinations. Then they looked at all forms of separation of the sexes from tent rearrangement, to meal rearrangement, to battlefield deployment rearrangement.

At what must have been roughly midnight, Fiora stopped writing and looked up from the final draft of the proposal they had planned to present to Mark, that her and Kent had worked for so long on. Noticing that she had stopped, Kent asked, "What's wrong?" Once he uttered these words, she propped her elbows up on the table and her head fell into her hands as she burst into a subdued laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked in confusion.

"Kent," she started, shrugging off her giggles, "we've spent many hours on it, and we've finally found a way to separate everyone properly, but we have overlooked a thing or two."

"And those would be?" Kent asked curiously.

"Well for one thing," She began to explain, "If Nergal just recently paid us a visit, and all we have to do is retrieve some powerful weapons for Eliwood and the other Lords before we make our march on Valor, then this entire battle may be over sooner than we expect. Perhaps the idea of this entire policy is rather... silly at this point."

"Well, now that I think about it, I suppose you are right." Kent admitted, now seeing things from a different perspective. "But what's the other reason?"

"Simply put: love." She responded.

With a puzzled look on his face, Kent stated, "I'm... not sure I understand what you mean."

"O.K., many of these 'relationships' are very one-sided," Fiora explained, "situations like Serra's fondness of Erk, and Erk's hatred of Serra, and I don't even need to explain Sain. But there are some, like Rebecca and Wil, who are actually in _love_ with each other. We simply can't separate people like that. It's not that we can't separate them because that would be the wrong thing to do; we can't separate them because they _will_ find a way to be with one another. It is inevitable! For an example, ummmm... have _you_ ever been in love with someone else, Kent?"

Kent answered without thinking, "Yes, you."

FIN!

BEHOLD THE AWESOME POWER OF THE _CLIFFHANGER_! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Ain't I evil?

That's all for chapter three! The next chapter will consist of very little. And during it, the plot of the story will advance very little, but it _is_ important!

Due to the shortness of chapter 4, I will be posting it along with chapter 5 almost at the same time. I hope that this will also make up for the large amount of frustration you are enduring from the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter.

Chapter 4 up in 2 weeks or less, and chapter 5 will be posted exactly 1 day after it!

R&R, or give me a flame,

for I shall read them all the same.

P.S. Uber apologies to any who's feelings I've hurt by bashing on the character of Serra; I just don't like her very much. (Spots pink-haired cleric with a spiky healing stave in hand and an angry look on her face, and runs for a hiding place)


	4. I love you: I'm sorry

This will probably be the most unique chapter in this story as it takes in to consideration that Kent and Fiora are extremely quick thinkers; especially when it comes to a very important matter like a confession of love.

That being said and explained, this chapter will, in respect to the story flow, last 1 second as it consists entirely of thoughts. And just because Fiora's thoughts are listed after Kent's doesn't mean that Fiora thinks all of these things _after_ Kent; rather that they are thinking these things at the same time.

I do not own Fire Emblem or it's respective characters.

ONWARD!

Kent's thoughts...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What have I done? I can not _believe_ I let that slip! Do I not think before I speak so often? And if I don't, then what else have I said in the past! NO! I mustn't think about the past, I must think about the present!

O.K.! There is no possible way I can fix that mistake; so let's look at my current situation. I'm sitting right next to Fiora; my comrade and closest friend. I've just told her that I am in love with her. Fiora has better than perfect hearing, and judging by the look in her eyes, she knows what I said. Everyone else is asleep by now, so this entire situation should be rather secret, but what does that matter?

I have _insulted_ her! In expressing love for Fiora, I am conveying that I see her not as a friend, comrade, and partner; but just as a woman and nothing more! I know that she is more than just a woman, and I have always thought of her as more than that, but I am giving her the _impression_ that I think of her as just a woman in saying that I am in love with her.

What if she loves me back? No, how could she love someone who has insulted her?

But my feelings for her are undeniable! When Linus threw his shield at Mark, I was about to rush to his side and lend my aid. But then I saw Fiora: completely at the mercy of someone who was about to... 'take her from me' as I thought of it at the time. She became my top priority. No, my _only_ priority, and I didn't _care_ whether Mark burned to ash or not. I wouldn't have cared if the entire _world_ burned to ash! I thought of nothing but Fiora, and everything else was forgotten!

That was what I was doing while she was in the medical tent; I was thinking about _her_! I was thinking of her and how we have shared so much together; how I've always felt something for her I could never explain. I thought of how though I've saved her from death many times, today it came far too close and I almost lost her forever. I decided that I was in love with her. No, I _realized_ I was in love with her! I _realized_ that these feelings for her must have been love.

I also decided to keep it a secret. Why? Because it just seemed like the right thing at the time. It doesn't matter anyway; it's no longer a secret!

Why am I so ashamed? I don't know why but I just am! I must apologies to her. WHAT? Then what does that leave me with: 'I love you. I'm sorry.'? That just doesn't seem right! But what else can I say?

She does not love me. That means that I have not only lost the chance to have her as my own, but I have also spoiled our friendship. '_Have her as my own_' what am I thinking! Am I so madly driven by my love that I set aside all respect for who she is and see her as nothing more than a goal to reach, or a mere... _object_ of desire!

I'm not worthy of being in your presence any more, Fiora. These thoughts that I have for you do not make me even worthy of looking upon you.

Fiora's thoughts...

What did he say? He said he loved me. He said he loved me! Kent, oh what a wonderful thing you have done! I was hoping that you felt the same way about me as I did about you!

Wait, do I truly love this man in front of me? I suppose I always have been a bit fond of him ever since the day I met him, but I always suppressed these feelings; always knew that such a thing could not be possible. But these thoughts they grew as I got to know him better and now...

Kent, you have been my comrade, my partner, my companion, my closest friend, and today you saved my life in a way that was different from the other times. For today, I had my first taste of something I have never been exposed to: fear. I was afraid that I would die, and I would not only lose my life but I would lose _you_ forever as well. I would be parted from you for the rest of eternity, and that would be the Hell that Linus spoke of.

I thought that you had no love for me when you came up with this idea of 'dividing the sexes' because that would mean that _we_ would no longer spend any time together. I thought that you would never see me as the woman I am. And though until this very moment we were friends, and I was positive that you had never loved me, I just had to know for sure. I knew that you would never lie to anyone, especially me, and I asked you if you had ever loved someone. And you made a mistake! You accidentally told me your deepest, darkest secret! You've given me more than friendship; you've given me love!

WHAT AM I THINKING! Am I so madly driven by my feelings that I would _exploit _my closest friend and trick him into telling me whether or not he loved me! And besides, it was _I_ who wanted to continue the 'dividing of the sexes' thing! Kent told me to forget about it but I decided not to, and it was _I_ who wanted to go ahead with the procedure! So what does that make me?

I must have been thinking as little as Kent was just the shortest of moments ago. WAIT! I'm still not thinking! I know now that Kent loves me, but he has no idea that _I _love _him_! I must tell him. I must tell let him know that I-! Kent? Why have you stopped looking at me? Are you... _ashamed_?

FIN!

Well, that was a bizarre chapter, I just thought that it would be interesting to tell what people think when someone confesses their love (either deliberately, or accidentally as in this case). I know that this should be the most serious part of this fic, but I still think that love is ultimately a weird thing; even though I've never had a taste of it myself (sob, sob!).

Now this is probably the part where you're thinking, "What kind of chapter is this!" Well, this chapter has many... unique qualities. For one thing, it doesn't fit well into context with any of the other chapters, and for another, it's just barely long enough for it to be it's own chapter. It also quite effectively (in my eyes) lubricates the transition from chapter 3 to chapter 5.

Next chapter up tomorrow! (Sorry about the long wait, but it'll be worth it.)

R&R, or give me a flame,

for I shall read them all the same.


	5. The Night

**SUCKERS!**

**Those of you who came here in search of masturbatory aid (I know who you are!) are sure to be disappointed! If you came here in search of a 'good time', I suggest that you either... A) get a life: there's more to living than reading lemons on ! Or, B) get a BRAIN: I'm sure there's **_**plenty**_** of other corners of the internet that have what you're looking for, and they **_**won't**_** keep bumping up my hit counters for this fic!**

That little in-bold-font notification aside, I'd like to say a thing or two of actual significance. After running over it in my head a few times, I found the original version of this chapter was... well... not very well put-together. It was O.K. I guess... but I kept thinking that it was in major need of fine-tuning.

For those of you who are reading this for the first time, I'd just like to say, I know there's a lot of you out there who try to avoid smutty stuff, but I'll have you know, I can't imagine this chapter being any more toned down than it already is... and besides, there's an important plot point or two here, so YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO READ THIS! (please note, I put those words in caps. only for the sake of catching your eye.)

That being said...

ONWARD!

Kent was staring furiously at the ground, intent on every shadow, every shade of color, and every blade of grass that he could barely see. _None of that just happened... none of that just happened... this is a bad dream... none of that just happened..._ No matter how hard the words beat against the massive drum in his mind, there was in the darkest corner a soft whisper cooing, _it's real... you can't wake up when you're already conscious..._

The woman in front of him, on the other hand, just stared at him with a blank expression of mild surprise. Fiora's heart was still descending from it's unbelievable leap up her throat that had almost killed her from shock, but she was still somehow not exactly baffled by the words he spoke. The words had not _fully_ soaked in and run their course through her head as of yet, but more than anything else, she was very curious right now. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but no words came out, and she quickly shut it. She repeated this action a few times before she silently exhaled and smiled. Fiora placed her fingers on his hand on the table and finally said, "Kent..."

His initial reaction to the touch was complete withdrawal, and his eyes focused on her as though he had never seen her before. "I..." He started, unable to go anywhere with it, "I'm sorry Fiora..." He stood up as though parting himself from a bad meal, "I... I should be going." He turned, neither his body nor his soul able to cope with the situation. His mind made up, he headed for the flaps of the tent without a moment's hesitation. _What have you done? What have you _done_! This is terrible... how am I going to be able to talk to her after this? You fool... she'll be thinking about you and hating you all night long while you hate yourself. You even leave her still sitting back there..._ He felt a hand on his shoulder, _Alright... I was wrong about _that_._

"Kent..." Fiora whispered, a strong grip on his shoulder. Kent knew she wasn't willing to let him go, so he turned to face her, but his eyes still avoided hers, opting instead for a view of her toes. "Kent." Her voice was uttered in the same, steady tone, but this time he knew she was demanding his attention. Against his better judgement, he made eye-contact with her. "Kent..." She whispered in a softer voice, with a neutral face, "Is this true?"

_I'm caught! Do something! Do _something_! What can I do...?_ He closed his eyes and swallowed deeply, preparing himself for the horrible confession he had to make. _Atone for your damned sins._ "Fiora... Yes... it is true. I... _am_... in love with you. And I am... sorry... for this. I will... leave... immediately." He turned again, but her hand remained on his shoulder. He couldn't resist her hold on him. Hesitantly, he turned himself back towards her, sweat building up on his forehead. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. _Run away! Run away! You don't want to be here and you know it! This is sailing uncharted waters, without so much a candle to light the way! Turn back, you damned fool! Turn back, _now_!_

_It's too late..._

"Kent," she said in a voice he had never heard her use before, "that would not do. Please, do not leave. I do not wish for you to be gone but to stay where you are. I wish for you to stay _here_... with _me_." Her words felt eerily soothing, almost comforting, but the prolonged presence of her hand made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and negated any comfort he could have possibly felt. Still, even with his eyes still locked on the ground, he couldn't help but almost take a deep interest in the way she spoke. She sounded different. Not just cool and collected, which was extraordinary considering the circumstances, but more than that. It was as thought she wasn't just trying to remove the awkwardness of the situation, but trying to comfort him, and him alone. The very notion of it ceased all thought in his mind.

"Fiora?" Kent said as his eyes turned up to met hers. He noticed how Fiora's face was considerably closer to his own and a long silence passed between them as they simply soaked in the slightly guilty pleasure of being so close together. In reality, it was only a few seconds, but the moment seemed to last forever in every sense. This was so strange to him, and though he was a bit baffled as to why he should keep this process going, he felt the need to resist slowly dwindle away. As Kent continued to maintain eye-contact, his body felt so relaxed and yet so tense; like the tiniest movement of any muscle would cause her to move away; a thing realized he did not want to happen.

His eyelids felt heavy and they were soon gently closed as he felt her hot breath on his face. While Kent may have been able to feel her breath, he could not hear her breathing at all, for his heartbeat had tripled its pace, and nothing but its insistent pounding could be heard. His right hand involuntarily moved to where she touched him on his shoulder, and he felt her hand drift up along his neck to the side of his cheek. Amazingly, he did not hinder her movements at all.

Fiora had her eyes closed as well, and she felt like the very aurora of his presence was encircling her. She was the one who had started this closeness thing, and she was now altogether completely absorbed into the process. Her blood boiled, her mind dreamt, and her body moved of it's own accord. Her fingers slowly and almost affectionately ran through his hair only once before returning to their resting place on his shoulder. She was standing right on the line that separated whatever pure self she had known, and an unknown pathway to immorality... and yet she felt almost taken over by a fiery desire to keep things the way they were. _He doesn't appear to be resisting..._ she thought. _I must make a decision. There is no turning back now._

Both their eyes peeled open and they looked right at one another as they awoke from their moment of bliss. Kent took in the infinite depths of Fiora's eyes, and he braced himself for whatever she might say.

"Kent," Fiora eventually explained in little more than a whisper, a soft expression of resolve in her eyes, "I love you too."

Had Kent not been held in place at that very moment, he would have fallen over. This was the very last thing he had expected her to say, and as a result, he barely acknowledged it as a positive response. But he had no time to ponder this, for there was now some unseen force possessing him that was ever so slowly pulling their faces closer together. _Wait a minute, what am I _doing_!? This is wrong!_ He thought as he continued to move towards her of what he alarmingly realized was his own free will. _We're supposed to be discussing a policy on how to _prevent_ things like this, not encourage them! This is immoral! This is crazy! What beautiful eyes she has... Stop thinking like that! Stop moving towards her Kent; control yourself! OK, that's it. I'm drawing the line right here, right now! When I count to three, I'll have pulled back from this situation... one... two... _Three_!_ But he kept moving closer to her. He knew he was cornered. He closed his eyes out of fear.

_Don't be afraid._ A voice whispered in his mind, but he didn't open his eyes. An image of Fiora flashed through his memory. She was just there, neither standing, nor sitting, nor laying down. She was just there. And there was one other thing next to her. It was himself. He tried to figure out where or when the image had come from, but then he realized this was how things had been for the past eight months. After debating the issue in an instant, a single thought went through his mind: _let it be._

Without warning, without upset, and even without pain, their lips met. The contact ended quicker than it began, and they pulled away. Fiora's eyes almost opened, but before that could happen, they came together again, and the contact was almost as short-lived as the first. Almost. They came back for another. And another. It became instinctive, although it was barely going anywhere. Both of them were willing to test the waters, but neither was willing to take the plunge. They were getting nowhere. It stopped, and eyes opened.

What Kent saw, didn't surprise him. She was close to him, and she had the same expression on her face as he did. The perfect blend of oblivion and embarrassment. There was something else too. She looked sad... almost as though she felt sorry she couldn't do any better than that. He knew how she felt. The same look was on his own face, and the feeling was inside of him. He stroked her shoulder, as if trying to convey his shame, and his understanding of her feelings. He felt the same sensation on his back. It wasn't until this moment that they both realized the tight embrace they were in. It wasn't painful, and it even seemed peaceful. He felt sparks flying inside him. She looked into his eyes and drew closer without a word, as if for the last time. The sparks flew faster and harder. He closed his eyes again, wondering if either of them understood one another. The sparks were splashing through his body, flying and dancing within him like butterflies gone mad. He met her. But this time, he refused to withdraw. It took only a second for one of the sparks to find it's mark and catch. He felt the sudden force of seventy trillion fires burning through every vein of his body, exploding in a cascade of starlight that coursed under his skin, set his soul aflame, and squeezed a tear from his eye. She screamed forever and died in a sea of her own bliss, melding with the waters, becoming one with the earth, with the heavens, and with herself. She could _feel_ the euphoria blast its constant, sheer intensity into her. The heat of the sun on her skin, the wind in her hair, and the kiss of the man she wanted to be with more than anything else in her truly meaningful existence, was all breathed in and kept forever safe in her arms, never to leave.

Kent couldn't believe this was happening to him. He had never bothered with anything like this. Seeing the way Sain was rejected over and over again was enough to make Kent _never_ want to be affiliated with this suffering thing known as 'love'. But there was something about the way Fiora treated him, the way she looked at him, the way she respected him, the way she spoke, the way she was kissing him, the way she just... was; that moved something inside of him that felt so right. It was something he couldn't even describe. There were so many things going on that he couldn't describe but he was sure of one thing: he wanted this to continue. Whatever 'this' was.

Fiora was a woman with a tall, lithe figure. If she were a commoner, she would rarely have received so much a second glance, but beneath her skin was an arsenal of hard-packed muscle that had snapped arms in half, and ended more lives than most mercenaries. But now, their purpose was directed towards Kent, or rather, keeping him near. She was containing him. A part of her did _not_ want this to end, and would do anything to keep him from leaving. That part of her, also ended up having direct control over her adrenal glands, and her embrace tightened even more.

_What will become of this?_ The question was in both of their minds, but an answer was elusive. This wasn't exactly expected, even a bit out of place, but it felt absolutely wonderful, no matter how personal it was. They couldn't believe it was real. It was too unbelievable to be true.

Uncounted time passed, and eventually, they broke away, almost for the desire to rest a moment. It became quiet. So very quiet. Fiora didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something, _anything_, but nothing came to mind. It felt like even opening her eyes would disturb the moment. She wouldn't have opened them anyway, she didn't know how to face him, let alone know if she could at all. She heard the rustle of some wind outside, and her eyes snapped open. She saw his eyes and she averted her gaze downward, but then she froze. They were squeezed together. There wasn't a single space of air between the two of them, and their arms were binding each other in place. Her leg was even wrapped around him a bit. How this happened, neither of them knew, but they didn't care. She looked deeper into his eyes than she ever had in her whole life, and she saw only a sincere, soft soul. He silently mouthed her name, and she stroked his cheek in response. Fiora had a serious glint in her eyes as they shared a gaze that 'spoke' more words than hours of conversing ever could.

Complying with both of their wishes; they engaged in another kiss, this one much slower and deeper. Kent moved them back over to the table, and blindly groped around for the lantern. His initial reasoning for this action could have been to prevent the casting of any shadows on the tent walls, or that it could become a potential fire hazard, but he felt he had other motives for this, though what they were, he couldn't tell. Finally, he found it, and turned the flame all the way down to nothing, somewhat amazed at how hard multitasking had suddenly become. They were still wrapped in each other's arms, neither one of them showing any signs of fatigue. It was so peaceful. It felt like they were melting into one another, mixing and swirling about with all lack of speed. Never before in Fiora's life had she felt something like this, and she would never forgive herself if she messed it up. So she took it in stride. They both did. Neither one of them felt affected by the constant whittling away of time, and as far as they were concerned, they had a good week to burn as slowly as they desired.

It seemed like hours had passed when they felt settled enough. They had finally found the position their hands were most comfortable in, the best time to break a kiss for some air, and the best way to reunite. Kent's every movement was geared towards keeping things as peaceful as possible, and yet, he quickly found him thinking less and less about his actions. He just let it all flow. In spite of all of the bloodshed in his life, this was not something he wished to spoil. This was something special, and he knew he wanted to savor it.

Suddenly, he felt a hand trace back and forth across his cheek, and he prematurely pulled away from their latest kiss, his eyes opening. All he saw was her eyes; unashamed, unwavering, and unbelievably beautiful. He whispered her name, but she only giggled softly and shushed into his ear. With a smile, he pulled her into a warm hug as she planted small kisses along his cheek and neck. She reached up under his shirt and placed a pair of hand on his warm back. He turned to face her and immediately locked both of them in a deep kiss. For a moment, he heard her let out a small laugh before she melted into the kiss. The sound of it thrilled him beyond comprehension. It was a feeling of real happiness that was coursing through his veins right now, something he'd had so little of in his life. Suddenly, it no longer mattered how out of place any of this was; he was glad it was happening, and wished only for it to continue. He cradled her body in a different position, and his fingertips brushed against the bare skin of the back of her neck, slowly trailing a bit lower as time passed.

_I know where this is heading..._ Fiora thought, _It doesn't matter if I'm a stranger to this, I'd be a fool if I couldn't see what this is leading too. Stop. I need to stop this. Now._

_Why?_

_It's immoral. It's... unprofessional, it's wrong, it's going to distract me and waste my time. It might be hard to face him in the future, and that's not even including the next morning! I'll probably loose some sleep... I didn't exactly have an easy day, so I need some rest._

_Shut up. What horrible thing caused you to think like this?_

_My life did._

_Well, your life has been nothing but hell, so why are you so intent on keeping it like that?_

_I'm afraid dammit! I'm afraid of this! I don't know what's going to happen! I don't know if this will be gentle or painful... I don't know what to do... I don't know if he'll understand me... I'm afraid of the whole thing... Don't I have a right to be?_

_Yes... of course you do. But think about it..._

_No! This is... this was something that I never wanted to happen! This was something that was never _supposed_ to happen! And even if it ever _did_... then it... it was supposed to be... special..._

_It is._

_I know..._

_Think to yourself... who has ever looked out for you? You always had to do that yourself, and you grew into a strong, independent, confident woman who gave up so much for those around you. You may have never expected anything in return, but no one offered, either. But then... he stepped into your life. He, who, when you were injured, had carried you to safety so that you wouldn't have to crawl... and he didn't do it because you had done the same for him, but because he cared for you. He was always there... to talk to... to help... he was the wall you were finally able to lean against after standing upright your whole life. And now you yearn for him... you want to hold him... kiss him... maybe even love him. What is wrong with that?_

_I know... I know..._

There was no turning back now, she knew this, and even if there was, she wouldn't embark on such a course. This was where she planned to stay. This was where she planned to go. This was a decision she made of her own will.

Like a boulder on the edge of a cliff that had newly broken loose from it's earthen encasing, their kiss began to pick up momentum with each passing moment. And with each passing moment, they dove further and further into a sea of bliss, until all sense of consciousness was lost, and every caress and every embrace was more natural than breathing. It felt good to be held. It felt good to be kissed. Especially because it was him. She felt herself freeze over. Letting herself loose from the few restraints that still held her back, she felt herself fly. Her hands moved up between his shoulder-blades and pulled him in as close to her as was possible. She cut herself loose from her consciousness and let her instincts take over, as if in a final defiance of everything that had ever restricted and constricted her until this moment. It was the most free she had felt in her whole life, and she wished only to prolong this sensation for however short of a time it might last.

Rational thought left him, and every minute was a full day of relaxation. The voice that had been telling him to hold back was gone, and all he paid attention to was the slow beat of her heart, the exhilarating sensation of her fingers tracing his back, and every movement of her body. He had a vague memory of a kiss being interrupted, and off and on he had been pondering what the cause of it had been. Then he realized his chest was bare. Her shirt was on the grass too. The feeling of her skin against his was like a dream and he felt her squeeze him harder. He did the same, and never stopped kissing her.

Fiora didn't want to rush through this, and she took this time to simply hold Kent and kiss him as much as she could. His embrace felt warm and strong, and she took notice of how his incredible physique was so much like hers: lean. Strong enough to wield a spear or sword effortlessly with one hand, yet nimble enough to swing it with precision and dodge almost anything in the blink of an eye. His skin was decorated with dozens of scars, big and small, thin and broad, and she was not so different. Neither one said a thing about it, but for a while they went about checking each other for scars, as though it would tell them more about one another.

Years ago, in the pathetic excuse of a childhood she'd had, Fiora had speculated that there were only so many personalities that could be spread across the people of the continent, and that some people had almost the exact same thought patterns, ideas, characteristics, and feelings. She had for a long time wanted to meet the person who was a mirror image of herself and it was only now that she came to think that Kent must be that individual.

These thoughts were interrupted as Kent suddenly withdrew one of his arms from around Fiora's shoulder, and circled it around her waist to hold her more fully against him. She squeezed against his back in response, and was suddenly overtaken by some indescribable desire for him; a longing for the next step to be taken.

In time, they did advance, though by taking small steps the whole time. Almost walking on air, they moved to Kent's bedside. It was a bit awkward for both of them, and they weren't always able to keep the kiss alive, but they did their best, and finally they arrived at their destination and order was restored between them. The tightness of their embrace had lessened now that they were more anchored in place, as did the intensity of their kiss, but the level of passion remained high. Kent may have been sitting down, but his mind was floating just beyond the hole in the clouds above them. He still couldn't believe this was happening to him. Never in his life or his dreams had he ever expected something like this would come to pass. But it was. Just the mere thought of it actually happening soothed him into a state of nirvana. As a result, when Fiora let go of him to reach around behind her, he fell back and let out a sigh. When he landed with a small thump, he quickly shook his head and opened his eyes. _Wake up..._ What he saw left him almost motionless. There was Fiora. It seemed like it had been so long since he had seen her with his eyes, he'd almost forgotten what she looked like. But there she was, currently wearing no more than he was from the waist up, and staring right at him. The sight of her was both simple and completely magnificent at the same time, and for a moment he felt almost unworthy to be in her presence. _This is Fiora..._ He could only think, _Fiora... it's not just a sensation... it's not just a good feeling... it's Fiora._

Fiora gazed down at him with the same look in her eyes. Goosebumps covered her as the cool air, and perhaps a dash of embarrassment, wrapped itself around her, but still, she kept eye-contact with him. _There he is..._ she gently stroked his face, _That man. That handsome, wonderful man I've just..._ Her eyelids lowered a bit. With a small jolt of will-power, she kept her eyes open and focused on him. _Oh... I'm so tired! I know you're tired too, Kent... but please... don't fall asleep... not just yet..._ They both just stared at each other for the longest time, soaking in the moment and the look of one another. She touched a hand to his cheek and whispered, "Kent..." Believing that this all wasn't a dream suddenly became so much easier for both of them.

"Fiora..." He reached up and curled his fingers behind her neck, and pulled her to him. _No regrets._ She thought, _No turning back._ He was surprised by the kiss she met him with. It was one of those 'Etrurian' kisses he and many others had seen Pent and Louise preform on a regular basis. Pent and Louise were an affectionate, and very out-going couple, but Kent was still quite shocked at first when Fiora met him like this. He was quick to get over it though, and returned the gesture as best as he could. He even found he enjoyed it a bit.

He traced his fingertips across her back, amazed by how much more incredible everything felt with this simple change. The new feeling of her bare skin in warm contact with his, the sensation of her soft, freed breasts pressed against his body, and the feel of her heart, beating almost in tune against his own. _This isn't so bad..._ He thought. They spent a good deal of time laying there just like that. Kissing each other. Holding each other. Just making things last.

Gravity did a good job of helping Fiora, as every kiss she gave him seemed to have a tiny bit more force to it. Fiora felt her hair drape down around the face of the man that she knew she wanted to be with, and she cursed at not leaving the string in her hair to keep it bound and out of the way. He didn't mind; he was far too busy kissing her and inspecting every curve of her shoulders and lower back.

_Not once in my life have I stared at this woman... not once have I thought of her as though she were something to be craved... not once have I ever viewed her to be desired in this way..._

_She's my friend... my comrade... even my companion... but nothing more._

_No... she's also a woman... A beautiful, kind, wonderful woman._

_And by the stars, what a body she has!_

_Control yourself, Kent! Don't let this get out of hand!_

_And it hasn't already? I love this woman... and I plan on taking every opportunity I get to enjoy this. Besides... she really is a lovely woman... I want her to know that... I want her to know how beautiful she is... I want her to know that I admire her... I want her to know that I love her. If that is being out of control, then may the sky and the earth have mercy on my soul._

They were happily locked in this position for a good ten minutes; more than content with holding one another and 'learning' how to kiss in a way that suited them. They both knew where this was heading, and they wanted it to be dragged out as long as they could possibly manage. However, it wasn't too long before a thought crossed Fiora's mind, _What now?_ It took her a while, but she quickly realized she was in a bit of a dilemma. _Where does it go from here...? Wait... There... there has to be more than this... there _has_ to be... there is._ As they remade another kiss, she moved her hands down his body. Suddenly, he gave a bit of a jolt, almost a spasm, and he broke the kiss for a moment as he let out an very quiet laugh. He touched her hand, and ran his fingers up her arm, over her shoulders, and through her hair. She could barely see the smile on his face just moments before she plunged herself into another kiss with him. _Kent... I had no idea you were ticklish._ Being a bit more careful this time, she let her hand travel down his body, this time, with a bit more caution, and a more distinct smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Days seemed to pass. Each one experienced with closed eyes and the same warm embrace. Slowly, one garment was removed, then another, and another. At long last Fiora was down to little more than her skin. The night air was cold, but she had endured far worse, and besides, she had someone right there with her to keep warm with, and he was more than happy to comply.

She didn't know exactly when, but after some time, she found herself on her back, her arms still wrapped around him, and a new sensation taking root within her. _I know there's more to this. I'm ready. No regrets..._

_Fiora... Think about this._

_I have been._

_Yes, you have. You've been thinking about this ever since your third kiss with him, and you've made your decision... but are you sure?_

_I know... I know this isn't something I should take lightly. I know I'm taking a risk, but... there never was much time for anything like this in my life, was there? No. Not just a lack of time. A lack of anything. I never felt this way about anyone before. Never._

_You trust him then?_

_With my life. With my soul._

_It's going to be wonderful... It's going to be amazing... It's not going to be even close to what you expect it to be..._

_But it will be with him..._

_Yes, it will, won't it?_

_Go for it._

In her relaxed state, Fiora could barely hold on to her consciousness, but she forced herself to slowly bring their heated kiss to a halt. It took some doing, but eventually she slowed it down to the point that their lips could part without it feeling abrupt or awkward. Her eyes opened, and she looked up at him. She couldn't see his face, it was too dark. But she could still see him. She could see those kind eyes gazing at her, that soft face, and the smile she knew was spread across his lips. "Kent..." _That's his name... that's the name of the man who's changed me... who I wholeheartedly give myself to of my own free will. I, Fiora, of Illia._ She slowly planted a gentle kiss on each of his cheeks.

"Fiora..." She was acting so strangely all of the sudden. He did not find her behavior to be absurd, but interesting more than anything else. It almost seemed like she were performing some sort of ceremony, though whether it was for herself, for him, or for both of them, he did not know. Then she met him in a kiss. It felt perfect. It was gentle and calm, and for a moment he could have sworn his very soul brushed against hers. She sighed ever so graciously, and he brought up a hand to stroke her face as affectionately as he could. She nuzzled into his palm while she stroked it with her own hand, all the while never ceasing their kiss, so soft and affectionate. A tear fell from her eye. She didn't know why. She didn't feel like crying, nor did she feel saddened or hurt, but nonetheless, at that very moment, a tear fell from they eye of Fiora, for the first time in her life.

Her fingers curled around his hand, and she pulled it from the side of her face. Then, she lead it down both of their bodies. At one point, he took the lead himself, and so she returned her hand to between his shoulders, and pulled him against her once more. _This is it..._ She thought. Her lazy kiss with him continued for a while, but she was hugging him more than anything else at the moment. She lay there, barely awake, completely unashamed, and just waiting. Waiting for him to take the next step. But that step was already being taken... though not exactly the way she expected it.

It took a while, but Fiora could eventually detect a faint, warm energy flowing through her body. Rolling through her as slow and warm as magma. It didn't take long for her to enjoy it, but it did take some time for her to find it's source. She could feel the warmth slowly intensify, and soon it was added to with little electric jolts every now and then. The kiss eventually broke, and the only form of communication she attempted was to breath into his ear, and kiss his cheek.

_She approves..._

_No she doesn't! This is thin ice you're walking on... _Very_ thin ice! And it's not water that awaits you below, but an endless plunge into fury and pain!_

_Well... what can I do? Stop? No. I need this... I _want_ this! And I'm sure she does too. We _both_ do. This is _our_ decision. And I love her._

_Do you?_

_Yes._

_Do you really?_

_Yes!_

_Kent... do you really, truly love her?_

_I..._

He pressed his lips against hers heatedly, to prove to himself how he felt about her. He could feel himself overwhelmed with so much desire for this woman, he thought he would die. And the way that she was kissing him, the way she tightly clutched him, the way she was arching her back ever so slightly did nothing but further fuel his want for her. He trailed his hand up her body, tracing his fingers almost enviously over her stomach and feeling the groves of her muscles just beneath her skin. They were muscles she had trained herself to harden at the slightest hint of danger. It was just another one of the things about her that he admired so much.

When his touch reached higher, she let out a low moan of pleasure through closed lips as he began to caress and lightly squeeze the soft skin he found there. For Fiora, it was a truly sensual feeling, and surprisingly relaxing at that. The sensations coursing through her felt different than the warmth from before. Now she felt more like her body were made of the finest ocean waters of her homeland, and every once in a while she felt like a raindrop of ice had fallen into her, sending ripples of pleasure through her whole body. She loved it. She felt his kiss linger away from her lips, and plant itself down her cheek and around her neck. She whispered his name in a silent voice. She waited for him to whisper her name in reply. He didn't.

"Kent...?" She moved her hand to his cheek and drew his chin up to look at her. He gave her a quick little smile, then almost immediately met her in another kiss. Her body complied, but her mind was elsewhere. _Wait... how did this happen...?_

_It was... Wasn't it all just in the spur of the moment...?_

_Yes... yes, it was..._

_So... why? How did we get this far...?_

_Does it matter...?_

_Yes! Of course it matters! What am I doing with this man...?_ She continued to kiss him.

_I'm... we're making love... aren't we...?_

_Love...? _This_... is supposed to be love...? This is just something that got out of control! It was just a kiss! I never meant for it to go this far!_

_Well it did... deal with it..._

_No! This is wrong. And not because it's immoral or impractical, but because it's just not right. I don't want this. I don't want things to be like this between him and I! I... if ever this were to happen between us... I wouldn't want it to be like this!_ She kept kissing him, but now, for some reason that she just couldn't explain, tears were beginning to build up in her eyes. But these tears were different from the one from earlier.

_I would want this to be special... I wanted us to be happy, not stupid! There's no thought to this. It's empty, it's pointless, I'll regret this for the rest of my life._

_It's not my fault... It never was! I never meant for it to happen like this..._

_I... I never wanted for any of this to happen. I was just following along... following... him!_

_Kent... No! No... No... He wouldn't! He _wouldn't_ do this to me! He would_ never_ take _advantage_ of me!_

_Wouldn't he? How long have you know him, Fiora? Oh, he's saved your skin plenty of times, and you've saved his, but how long have you know this man Fiora?_

_No!_

_How long has _he_ know _you_? Long enough to tell you he loves you? No... not nearly long enough... He's been lying this whole time!_

_No! He wouldn't! Not Kent! No!_

_He has! He is! He's probably been planning this night in advance for weeks; waiting for the perfect opportunity to pick you when you were at your ripest. Think of the way he confessed to you! He could have easily gotten out of that had you declined... but you fell for him like the fool you are!_

_He was almost weeping... his eyes were filled with so much regret... and I was only just learning how much I yearned for him... How could I have said no...?_

_It was an act! Everything that's ever happened between us has been a act! When you first met him, he immediately tried showing off for you! He found that didn't work, so he changed his plan. He wanted you... he landed a lucky spot when he was designated to share a tent with you. How long...? How long has he watched you...? How many nights has he watched you in your sleep... took note of every aspect of your personality, and your lifestyle?_

_How long has he looked at me with lust in his eyes that I foolishly mistook for friendship...?_

_But I fell for him... All the same, I fell for him. I wanted him... wanted to be beside him... be with him. I even wanted to share _this_ with him... and maybe one day... we would love each other. And neither of us would ever have to be alone. But it wasn't enough for you, Kent... was it?_

He shifted his body around a bit, and with some personal relief, he discarded the last article of clothing between them. He didn't even think about it. His mind was made up. He embraced her tightly as he kept his lips locked with hers. Then, with a bit of courage, he slowly drew closer.

_Kent. How could you do this? _She could feel him driving into her. Violating her. Her tears finally streamed out of the corners of her eyes, and rolled down the sides of her cheeks in long, cold streaks._ How could you betray me so? I thought you were my best friend. I thought I could trust you with my very life. You treated me with such kindness, such respect... such love. You were the greatest thing that came into my life, and I wanted us to be together forever. But you faked it all along. Kent... I _loved_ you! _Tears were now pouring from her eyes,_ You were the first and only man I had ever loved! Did that mean nothing to you!? How could you hurt me so? How could you lie to me by telling me that you loved me! How could you manipulate and exploit someone who had become your best friend and fallen for you?! Was it all just for my body? Was it all just so you could _rape_ me!? Kent, why, why, _why_!_

She felt something rip apart inside of her body, and she let out a cry of pain; breaking off the kiss in the process. "Fiora!" Kent burst out urgently as he quickly retracted himself, "Are you all right?" he asked as he looked upon her with eyes of concern.

"Oh, I'm _fine_ Kent." Fiora said with the tiniest hint of sarcasm.

_You're only _raping_ me, you bastard!_

_Hit him! Strike him! You're not the helpless woman he makes you out to be! You can overcome him! Defend yourself!_

_He's already taken me... he's already made his damage permanent..._

_Well I never really was much of a maiden anyway. Besides... he's pinning me down... one drop of resistance and he'd probably tie me up and gag me! And I'm exhausted... I'm too tired to fight him... Fine! Let him have his fun! I swear Kent... I swear by the blood in my veins that thinking I played right into your hands was the biggest mistake you ever made! I'll kill you for what you've done to me! I'll take your life for destroying my own!_ For the time being, she just said with a touch more sarcasm, "Why don't you continue?"

"Fiora," he said in a soft yet serious voice, "I... dammit, what am I doing...? What was I _thinking_! I'm so sorry... I... I don't know how this got so far out of hand... we should just stop right now."

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"Fiora," he explained in a regretful tone, "I should have talked this over with you before we started... but it all happened so fast that I just wanted to keep going...! I wanted to keep the mood of... this. I can't believe I let it go this far. I'm so selfish. I didn't think about anything. Fiora... this is... I'll never forgive myself if I force myself upon you in any way. Fiora... I want you to know that the moment you kissed me, I knew I wanted to be with you... and I want us to share this, I really do! But not like this. I don't want it to be like this between us." He gulped, partially to take in some air, partially in surprise of the way he was talking, "Fiora... if this is too much, or too soon, or if you think that I am being too hasty; then let me know now... please. I want to be with you Fiora... but not without your consent. So... please tell me, Fiora... is this what you want? If it's not, then just tell me, and I _will_ wait until you are ready. I promise."

Fiora slowly smiled at the man who had accidentally saved his own life. "Kent..." She sighed almost dreamily as he wiped the tears from her face with the gentle touch of his fingers.

_He means it. I can tell._

_Don't trust him! It's another lie! It's treachery!_

_Am I truly so cold that I would push this man away...? What was I thinking...? Sure... this isn't expected, nor did this go according to plan, let alone have a plan to begin with, but has any part of my life ever been like that? I want this... I can't imagine myself holding another man... and I can't imagine not holding you Kent... I can't imagine being without you this night... I want you Kent. I want to be with you._

_You're a fool..._

_Then I'm a fool._

It was incredibly relieving to feel all of her worries washing away as she gently kissed his cheek. "Kent... you don't know how much that means to me."

"Then... you think we should stop?"

She almost laughed, but suppressed her giggles, "No... let's... let's keep going..." She kissed him far back on his cheek, and whispered right into his ear, "Kent... make love to me..."

He pulled back his head, and faced her, "Are you sure...?" There was sincerity in his voice. She appreciated it, but felt like a change was in order.

She suddenly pulled him into a kiss, completely without warning. She lingered on it for a moment, but then she broke off and they were eye-to-eye, their foreheads touching. "Kent..." She whispered with almost a smile playing across her lips, "don't make me force you..." Again, because of the darkness, she couldn't exactly see his face, but she could practically feel the smile he was displaying. Fiora's face came forward and their lips met as they were locked in another powerful kiss. It no longer seemed to be about sheer desire for one another... there was something more important at play here. They held each other. For an eternity it seemed, they held each other, almost as if they were kissing away the interruption from earlier. It was almost as exhilarating as the first time they kissed. With the slow passage of time, they eventually got back into their own personal tempo. A caress here, an Etrurian kiss there; it was all so natural to them now. Even though they were trying to recreate their special moment from before so they could continue, that didn't mean they couldn't take the long road.

Eventually, when that moment arrived, Kent slowly, carefully picked up where they had left off from before. Fiora could feel the pain from earlier return, but only in negligible amounts, and soon it ceased altogether. In its place, however, was a sensation that left all the others she'd had that night miles behind her, and she moaned into his mouth out of pure pleasure. Kent was almost overtaken by the sensations that poured over him as well, and he couldn't help but break off the kiss for a brief, much needed breath of fresh air. But with a tug on the back of his neck, he remade his kiss with her, and continued with even more vigor. She was taken over by the feelings that rippled through her body like waves crashing against the frozen shores of her homeland. Fiora had never been a dancer in any way, but there was a definite rhythm here that she fell right in with, getting the feeling that both of them were leading. She felt so _whole_, so _complete_, like an empty void in her life that she never knew was there had suddenly been filled up.

Kent picked up the pace ever so slightly, and Fiora quickly responded and kept up with it. Their speed increased at a consistent rate, as did the build-up of sweat on their bodies and the escalating demand for air. It wasn't long before Fiora broke off their kiss in favor of the air that she suddenly needed so badly, and she bit down on her lip to keep herself from going crazy. Their heavy breathing matched the beat of the movements of where they were connected. Kent was almost sent into shock at how truly amazing everything felt. The touch of her skin, the sound of her gentle panting and moaning, the feeling of her fingernails almost digging into his back... it all fueled him even further, and he continued with unrestrained enthusiasm. Fiora could feel the warm energy build up inside her again; this time more powerful than ever, and with each movement, it became more intense, and more exhilarating still. Her back seemed to arch even further with every breath she took, realizing that the energy was not just in her body, it was between the two of them; they were _sharing_ this feeling.

With a last effort, their dance came to a crescendo, and she almost screamed in joy but he cut her off in a strong kiss as they were both sent spiraling into a synchronized climax. Every last muscle in their bodies became hard as rock, as though they were fused into one solid piece. They felt the warm energy they had created suddenly burst and wrap every crevice of their bodies in a soothing, relaxing, sensual flood of pleasure, and it felt as though every drop of energy they had was drained from them. They relaxed, weak in each other's arms, breathing heavily, their bodies covered in a thin film of sweat. Neither one of them moved. Fiora tilted her head back to get a bit more air, and negated all control over her body, going completely limp, and slowly let her toes uncurl. More than anything else, she knew she had to catch her breath. Kent was in very much the same situation, but he propped himself a bit up on his elbows, giving them both as much space as possible to breath, and allowing some room for ventilation over their bodies as well. _I can't believe it..._ was all she could think, _I can't... I can't believe it... Kent... Kent..._ After some time, she felt his cheek nudge her own, and her eyes opened to meet his. The both gave a modest smile, which was complimented in no small part by a blush from each of them. "I love you..." She managed to whisper just before he met her in a brief kiss. Her fingers traced his back with a delicate touch she never realized she had, and she could feel his body reacting to it appropriately. Without warning, another tear rushed down the corner of her eye as her lips lazily danced with his for a moment or two. She knew why she was comfortable now. She knew why she was happy now.

He wished this moment would never end. He wished to just kiss her forever, and keep holding her like this until the sun finally rose on both of them. For a while, his wishes were granted, and he indulged himself in the taste of her lips, the scent of her body, and every movement she made. But the late hours of this night would not grant him as much time as he wished for, and the bodily desire for sleep and rest soon overcame the emotional desire for the woman in his arms. And so, with some reluctance, he eventually broke the kiss, and rolled over to his side, unsure of what to say. This woman had touched him deep inside, in a way no one else ever had, and he felt almost in debt to her for that. Then he felt her fingers lace in with his, even as he watched her eyes close ever so gently, still smiling at him. "I love you, Fiora." He whispered as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. He no longer cared whether he knew the meaning of the words he spoke or not, because at that moment, none of that really mattered. There was just something about her that made him feel alive, and filled him with a sense of devotion to her, and that was all that was important to him. The smile on her face faded, and he felt the gentle grasp on his hand lessen as she sank into slumber.

It was only now that he felt drowsiness take ahold of him, and with what little energy he had left, he shifted about and pulled the only blanket he had over both of them. Kent usually used it only during cold conditions, but when he thought of the work involved in putting something on, not to mention dressing Fiora, he found the blanket to be a fine alternative. Once they were both adequately covered, he lay on his back, and let out a deep breath. His head was filled with thoughts of all that had just happened. Their first kiss. Their first _real_ kiss. The thought of it still blew his mind away! The feel of her hair between his fingers. The way it felt to have her hands on his back, pulling him to her. And the dreamy touch of her skin. He had no idea whether they had done it 'right', but he did know it was an experience he would never forget. He felt her snuggle up against him in her sleep, and he closed his eyes. He saw every smile she had ever made. Every time she had saved his life. And every special moment he had spent with her from the moment he first met her, to the time she became his friend, to this very moment when she lay sleeping against him... and it was like a lullaby for him. Before too long, they were both asleep, and finally at peace. It had been a long day for both of them.

FIN!

Those of you who noticed the differences... congrats! Those of you who didn't, ignorance is bliss!

Hell, I rewrote this chapter because it was important to me more than anything else, and if any of you came back to read this new version, then that's just a bonus for me.

If you disapproved of this chapter in any way at all, then do not hesitate to flame me like you would anyone who would dare insult the greatest couple (in my opinion) in one of the greatest games of all time. (It's number one on _my_ list!) After all, if I write for any reason other than for my own enjoyment, it's so that I can read what others thought of my work... how much they enjoyed it... how much they despised it... it doesn't matter to me. I always want to hear from you, no matter the content of your review. Thank you.

R&R, or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same.


	6. No regrets

Lo and behold the final chapter! I've spent much time on this chapter, and I've rewritten it about three times before I figured I finally got the feeling right.

I know it's been a long wait, especially considering how quite a few of you (my readers) wished to remain morally pure and not read the previous chapter. For those of you who didn't, I suggest that you set aside your fears and at least _try_ the first couple of paragraphs of chapter 5 knowing that it's not _nearly_ as 'bad' as you might think, (it's actually a rather beautiful work of art; read the reviews I got on it) and that trying something new won't hurt you.

But if you still insist on not reading chapter 5, then just start reading this chapter letting your imagination fill in the blanks.

BTW, please forgive me for ever so slightly tweaking Kent and Fiora's support conversation A.

Oh, and I've 'updated' chapter 5 because I almost died of a heart attack when I suddenly realized that there was a typo in it's 25th paragraph (I wrote 'them' instead of 'their'). This horrid mistake has been changed.

I do not own Fire Emblem or its respective characters.

ONWARD!

Kent found himself staring into Fiora's eyes, felt her holding her naked body tightly to his, and saw nothing but the deepest compassion on her face. She smiled at him in a way he had never seen, and a tear rolled down the corner of her eye as she moved her face closer and kissed him heatedly on the lips. Kent kissed back and his arms slowly but surly encircled her almost on instinct, as though every part of his body was moving on it's own. Her embrace felt warm and inviting, and though he did not want her to leave, he was trying to think of how he had gotten to where he was right now. He knew this inexplicable moment was immoral, but a part of him felt that he wanted this and that there was no reason to resist the wonderful contact.

As he thought this, she suddenly disappeared from his arms; and Kent found himself in full armor riding on the back of his horse which was slowly trotting forward. He looked about and saw nothing but endless fields of grass that was easily knee-high, the wind blowing the millions of blades about. His body felt cold in comparison to Fiora's embrace, who he had strangely lost one way or another. Kent saw a dark spot way out in front of him that looked like it could be something he could investigate. Noticing nothing else around him, he urged his horse forward at a fast and constant pace.

Kent rode for what seemed like a hundred eternities, and the plains of grass were making him sick with their relentless flowing and infinite population. But the greenery suddenly came to a complete stop, and he was traveling on a hard cobblestone surface that went out in all directions. The black point he had been traveling towards became more defined as he got closer, and he could see it was the silhouette of something but he did not know what.

"Kent, thanks for always looking out for me." Fiora's voice suddenly echoed across the barren landscape. Kent stooped his mount and took a moment to make sure he wasn't imagining this.

"An easy victory every time!" Mark's voice called. Kent knew that he wasn't imagining this now, and he suddenly noticed how the dark point he had been moving towards was now somehow moving towards _him_.

"Yes, you." Kent heard his own voice say, though he had not spoken a word. The black point was now close enough that he could see the outlining of what it was; two people, one standing, and one lying on the ground. It was a sight he had seen before.

Kent didn't even think, he just kicked into the sides of his horse, and traveled towards the two people at top speed. He reached for the sword at his side, but it was not there; nor was his axe or any of his spears or lances or even his shield. He didn't care, he kept on going.

His worst fears were realized as the people came into view. One was Fiora, who as splayed out on the ground on her back, her right shoulder clutched in pain. The other person was Linus, who was currently in the act of slowly drawing his sword from it's sheath on his back. Kent hurried his horse as he watched Linus slowly advance towards Fiora's crippled form.

Kent was only a few yards away when Linus pulled the blade of his sword from it's sheath and held it straight outward in Fiora's direction. Kent was only a few feet away now, and was about to leap from his saddle at the man when his horse suddenly disappeared beneath him and he fell to the ground. Kent tried to get to his feet but he felt as though there were some unstoppable force holding him to the ground, like all of the energy in his body had been drained and he could not move no matter how hard he tried.

Kent had his head turned toward Fiora and the Mad Dog, and he could only watch in horror as Linus brought the very tip of his blade directly between Fiora's fearful eyes, holding it with only his left hand. Linus brought his right hand up behind the bottom of the handle as he said, "Fine, I'll finnish you off first."

Kent screamed for Linus to stop but no sound came from his mouth. Kent saw the world around him slow down as Linus' entire body blew away like the sand off the mountainous dunes of sand of the Nabata Desert, but his sword remained hovering for a moment. Kent yelled as loud as he could, called to Fiora that he loved her but as he did so the weapon on it's own shot forward, piercing through the other side of her head.

Kent awoke.

He was lying flat on his back looking straight up at the ceiling of the tent through shocked eyes. He remembered he needed to breath and took a deep intake of air, followed by a relaxing exhale that was followed by many quick breaths. He closed his eyes and forced a single soothing thought into his mind: _It was only a dream._

Kent was a bit uncomfortable in the position he was in, lying half off the edge of his bed with his right arm dangling down and touching the soft grass of the ground, but he was taking this moment to get his mind focused on reality. _O.K._ He thought, _There are no endless plains of grass, nor cobblestones, nor levitating swords, Fiora did not die, and Fiora would never... But still, I confessed my love to her! That is totally unacceptable. Even if it is a dream, even if it is not real, even if these confounded feelings are true... Oh don't dwell on such immoral thoughts Kent! Even if my feelings may be true, she's not the kind of woman who would...!_ He had opened his eyes in the direction of Fiora's bed on the other side of the tent, and noticed through the early-morning twilight how it was neatly made out like it was ready to be slept in. Her clothing was also uniformly stacked beside it, so she couldn't be up and about. As far as that went; judging by the dim redness of the sky that flooded the horizon below a deep blue sky, which he could just make out through the flap of their tent, it was too early even for _him_ to be awake. Then he noticed the color of her hair on her bed, and began to wonder if Fiora was still sleeping but had somehow managed to become as thin as a leaf. He concentrated his eyes on the aquamarine lump on her bed and as his eyes focused, he thought to himself, _Is... that... a... bra!_

Kent froze. He felt something lightly squeeze his left shoulder and memories came rushing back to him. Kent slowly turned his head off to his left and closed his eyes; he was almost afraid of what he thought he would see when he opened them. His eyelids peeled apart, and he saw Fiora sleeping there. Saw her relaxed, beautiful face with a peaceful smile on her lips. Saw the way a few strands of her hair were spread across her forehead, cheeks, and collarbone. Saw her left hand rested on his left shoulder, lightly and subconsciously squeezing his flesh in the notion that she would probably wake in a while. He lifted the covers slightly for a peek to be sure of his thoughts, only to close them instantly when he saw her unclothed figure.

_Saint Elimine, what have I done!_ Was all Kent could think.

He didn't know exactly what happened after that very moment, as all his self awareness was completely shut off. He was walking away from the entire encampment on foot through the lush grass with all his clothing and battle armor on and a lance in hand when he seemed to regain consciousness. He let go of his lance but it remained in his hand. He remembered that it was a Brave weapon, and he shook his hand before it fell to the ground and he looked out towards the red horizon that was anticipating a sunrise, as if expecting an answer to all of his questions and worries to be presented to him. Nothing came to him so he sat down on a small boulder and rested his forehead in the palm of his propped up hand and engaged himself in deep thought.

_So... it wasn't just my imagination, or a dream... It really happened!_ _How could I do this? How could I be so foolishly... immoral? I let my feelings take control of me, and look where it got me! This was exactly the kind of thing we were trying to prevent! What drove me to do such a thing? How could I make such advances on my closest friend?_

_Because I'm in love with her. Because she is in love with me. Nothing is wrong with that. We fell in love... no, we _realized_ we had _been_ in love and felt a need for each other. It is... justifiable._

_It does not matter whether we are in love or not, I allowed myself to do something unspeakable to her... I even felt that I _wanted_ to do such a thing! How could I let my instincts take hold of me and let myself do something so foolish to Fiora...? FIORA! Saint Elimine, what would she think if she woke up and found herself naked in my bed! _He was already sprinting back towards their tent.

Kent was a very well-built, healthy man in the most prime years of his life with more stamina than most above-average soldiers. However being a horseman, he was more accustomed to having his steed do most of his movement, and as strong as his legs were, they were _not _accustomed to such hasty movement. It took him a while to catch his breath once he got to the tent Fiora was in, but once his breathing patterns were back in order he took one last breath of courage and reached for the flap of the tent.

But it opened up before he could touch it and Fiora walked out right in front of him. She was dressed in her usual combat uniform without the armor but Kent took no notice of this as he just stared into her eyes as if asking for forgiveness. She looked back at him mostly in surprise at seeing him there, but she had a distant look of comfort on her face; like she knew exactly what kind of chaos was going on in his mind and she was trying to lessen his pain. A long moment of silence passed between them as they simply gazed at one another like they had the night before, only this time, not a single thought was shared between them. "Kent." Fiora finally said in a soft, quiet voice.

"Fiora." Kent replied in much the same tone.

"I..." Fiora started.

"You..." Kent said at the exact same moment. The awkwardness of their trying to speak at the same time caused another silence to pass between them.

After a short while, Fiora hung her head in shame and spoke, "... Forgive me."

These words made Kent absolutely furious. _'Forgive _meI_'m the one to blame for this whole situation; _I_ confessed first!_ He thought to himself, but he showed no signs of his anger upon his face and simply said, "No, it is I who should apologize..."

"I..." She tried to say.

"We..." He spoke at the same time. _This is madness!_ Kent thought, _This may very well be the most important conversation of my life; and we can't even talk correctly. Alright, plan B; let's take turns._ "... Why don't you go first." He said.

"No, please, you first." Fiora replied as she pointed her head up towards him once more.

"Well then..." Kent started out, knowing that whatever he said had to be something good, "Fiora, please stay with me. When you are near, I feel as if I fight more bravely, more keenly. I know that we have always been together ever since that night in Baddon, but I want more than just a combat partner. Even if that combat partner has been my closest friend. What do you say?" He mentally braced himself for whatever her answer would be.

"Actually..." Fiora said as a soft smile appeared on her face, "I came to ask you the same thing..."

"Really?" Kent said as he took a step towards her. He didn't know why he asked such a silly question. Perhaps it had something to do with making sure that this was not still a part of the 'dream' he thought he had been having last night.

"Yes." Fiora confirmed as she slowly took a step forward and embraced him in a gentle hug which he warmly accepted. She rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes as she continued, "It's strange isn't it? I feel as if we have known each other from birth."

Kent didn't hold her as needfully as he had last night, rather he barely rested his hands on her sides and leaned his head against hers as he closed his eyes and for a moment was totally lost in a universe of complete bliss. There was only him, there was only Fiora, there was only the warmth of their love. After what must have been two minutes of total silence without either of them moving a single muscle, Kent began to think deeply about this whole situation. _This is the greatest moment of my life!_ he thought,_ She accepts me, and not just in the heat of the moment; but here where we are more than aware of the reality around us. She actually loves me! And to think Fiora: Just moments before I first became really aquatinted with you, I was questioning why I should even be apart of this whole battle... WAIT! What happens after this battle? Fiora will go back to Ilia and I will go back to Caelin, but that would not be right at all! _He thought on this subject for a long while, trying to think of some way for them to stay together, some way to keep them from being parted. His mind finally landed on a conclusion as he broke their moment of bliss and looking her in the eyes said, "Fiora... I must ask you one more thing. When this battle ends, if we both still live..."

"Please..." Fiora cut him off as she held her hand to his mouth to silence him, "say no more. I... already know what you will ask... Of course. I feel the same way."

"Really? I am glad..." Kent responded as he leaned his forehead against her own and he fancied that he could almost see his reflection in her deep eyes. "But... about that policy I suggested... What should we do?"

"Well..." Fiora said as she smiled happily, "Perhaps... It can wait..." They slowly moved their faces closer together and shared a kiss that was almost as powerful as their first one, and they somehow knew that this was the way things were meant to be.

As their lips were locked together in a heated passion, an odd thought suddenly went through Kent's mind, _Chances are slim, not even there perhaps, but what if one of us were to die over the course of this whole battle? Is it even worth staying in this army now that we have found each other? Fiora's only here as a mercenary, and I'm not necessarily the leader of this campaign either. Do we truly want to risk our love over our duty? _He broke off the kiss after a long while and said, "Fiora... I know this may sound unlike me, but... do we really want to stay in this fight now that we've... found each other? Is it even worth staying? Why don't we leave together and forget about this whole thing?"

Fiora gave him a puzzled look and said, "Kent, are you suggesting that we... elope?"

"Well, 'elope' is... such a strong word." he explained to the woman who was still wrapped in his arms, "I mean to say that... we may be some of the most valuable members of this army... but everyone else is so powerful now that I think our absence would not be so terrible a loss."

"Kent," Fiora said softly almost seeing right through him, "are you saying that we might die over the course of this battle? That we should abandon our duty... in exchange for our love?"

Her ability to practically read his exact thoughts left him baffled, and he knew that it would be impossible to hide anything from her. Kent looked at her with the faintest traces of shame in his eyes before he squeezed her closely to him, almost needfully, and said with his eyes tightly closed, "Fiora, I have trained almost my whole life to be the man I am today. I've been a solider for so long... that I can hardly remember what it was like being a boy. I've always succeeded at being the very best I can be, and being a Knight of Caelin has been my life's work; but I would give that all up for you. I know that this mission is important, I know that the very existence of our race hangs in the balance of it's outcome; but I love you so much that I would abandon my contributions to this noble cause for you... for us."

"Kent," Fiora spoke as she placed her hands on his chest to gently move herself away from him enough to speak, "we can do both." He looked up, and stared at her face in surprise. "We can do both." she repeated, "I too have trained almost my entire life to become a Pegasus Knight of Ilia and though I was little more than a mercenary, I understand how important that part of anyone's life can be. But Kent, this is one fight that we must stay in. We can... no, we _must_ continue this battle, and ensure that our future is secure. We can finnish this horrible war and know that we will never have to live in doubt. We can do our duty and still have our love. Kent; we won't die, I promise you that."

"Fiora..." It was all he could bring himself to say before she suddenly kissed him. He knew she was right, he knew that they would not die and that they could not die. He somehow suddenly knew that they would be together after this whole thing was over. It wasn't something that could be debated, it was simply a fact.

After a moment of having their faces heatedly locked together in a kiss that they both needed, they broke off and Fiora stared into Kent's eyes. She smiled happily, with a look on her face that made her seem ready to laugh at any moment, and Kent returned the gesture with a smile of his own. Seeing her like that was by far the most joyous thing he had ever viewed in his life. She hugged him and pressed the side of her face against his neck. He responded by leaning his head against hers and closed his eyes as he tried to burn a picture of this moment of happiness in his mind. "Ironic, isn't it?" Fiora said as she let out a small chuckle.

"What is?" Kent replied as he slowly stroked her hair.

"How the two in this army who were thought to have no concept of what love was," Fiora began, "end up... _making_ love... on the same night that they tried to stop such a thing from happening..."

"And now what used to be friends..." Kent continued.

"...have become lovers." They both finished at the same time before embracing tightly.

"I don't exactly know why last-night happened, but I think it had a bit of fate to it." Fiora summarized as she kissed him gently on the cheek before snuggling back into the curve of his neck, a very content look on her face.

The words she spoke made him recall the dark shadow of doubt that had been looming in the back of his mind, and had now shown itself better defined than ever before. _Last-night_ he thought with a shudder before recalling the look on her face. He knew it would haunt him to the end of his days if he did not address it now. "Fiora?" He said hesitantly.

"My Love?" She responded.

The way she called him that almost tore him in half due to the amount of sorrow he knew he had to convey. "Fiora... there is something that I must... inquire of you." He spoke softly, "About... last night..."

"What is it Kent?" She asked, her voice suddenly very serious as she detected the faint traces of unease in his voice.

"Fiora... it's just that... I couldn't help but notice that last night you were... well... crying... and I just wanted to make sure that...! Fiora?" Fiora had somehow managed to remove all the armor on his upper body without his noticing, and she was now squeezing hard on his back through his shirt as though her very life depended on it.

She looked upon him with tears building up in her eyes and spoke in a voice very much unlike her usual calm one, "Kent... I want you to know above everything else... that I am truly blessed that I was able to share something... so special with you... and that I love you more than words can explain... But last night... for the briefest yet longest moment... I thought you were... I thought you were... taking advantage of me... of my body." She hugged him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder. She was on the very brink of bursting into sobs as every word she spoke brought pain to her, but she did not shed a single tear.

Kent was left gazing outward, unable to at first fully grasp what she had said. He thought for a while, which was not such an easy task for knowing how distressed Fiora was was like having a knife through his heart that was slowly being twisted. "Fiora," he spoke as he slowly gathered himself, "I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt you... physically or emotionally. I don't know what came over me to... make such... immoral advances upon you. I don't know why it all even happened, but looking back now I almost wish that it had not, and I regret everyth-"

"No!" Fiora had suddenly raised her voice, and found herself grasping his shoulders with outstretched arms. There was silence between them for a moment or two before her muscles relaxed and she finally continued in a calmer voice, "No Kent... Please do not think like that. Do not regret anything that has happened between us... it is one of my deepest desires... that neither of us shall ever regret anything that has happened between us." She gently stroked his face as she started to explain, "I suppose that in the heat of the moment I... I had never before been so... felt so... intimately close to someone else... and I suppose that such a situation caused me to jump to conclusions. I thought that you had been lying to me all along, that you had ingeniously made all of your feelings for me up just to get to where you were. But then you told me how it was all for me... that you would stop if I so much as asked... that you never intended to ever discomfort me in any way. And I suppose I came back to my senses, knowing that I had nothing to fear. Kent, I'm glad that it all happened the way it did. Every moment... every touch... every kiss was filled with love and you made me feel so wonderful... I do not wish for any of it to have been hindered or changed in any way... nor forgotten. Kent let us never have to live in doubt, or unease, or regret; let us know that after this war we _will_ live happily... together." She stopped for a moment, realizing that she had just spoken what she had earlier been almost afraid to hear.

"I wish nothing more than that Fiora." Kent spoke softly to comfort her, "I can't deny any more that that is what I want above all else. I want you to always be near, I want you to always be happy, and it brings me so much joy to know that you feel the same as I do. Fiora... I... I can't tell you how much I..."

Fiora held her hand to his mouth to silence him once more, and in her eyes was a gaze that told him that she already knew exactly how he felt. She softly kissed him on his cheek before gently embracing him; her mind at peace. His arms encircled her, and they took in this moment as much as they could.

After a brief yet sweetly long moment, Kent looked upon her face and found the first few rays of the newly risen sun were illuminating her features. She closed her eyes to soak in the sun's warmth, and Kent looked over her face. The light hit her directly from her right, and half of her face was brilliantly glowing with a color that was of a reddish hue (probably because the light was passing through Athos' magic barrier) much like Kent's hair. Then his gaze fell upon her own hair, and he was shocked to see how while the left side of her hair was it's usual color of beautiful aquamarine, the right side that was illuminated had changed to a unique tint of violet that he almost could not define. It was as though he was seeing what their hair looked like when put together. Like something from both of them was put together to make something new and completely different. Like something from both of them had been combined. Combined.

Then the thought hit him.

Kent stumbled over his words as if not able to properly convey what he meant to say. "Fiora!" He spoke in an urgent tone as he grasped her shoulders, "If we... made love... then shouldn't you be...? Won't you... eventually... become..." he glanced uneasily at her stomach before his gaze became glued to the ground. He suddenly no longer cared if they were in love; he had done something permanent to her now and nothing he could do would make up for it. He looked up at the expression on her face which was one of surprise and he squeezed her tightly to him as he started to say very quickly, "Please, Fiora! Please forgive me! I never meant for it to go so far! I never meant for such a thing to happen! I'm deeply sorry for what I've done! I can't believe I let myself do something like this too you! I..."

He continued in this way for what seemed like longer than he should take to apologize for anything, holding her close to him, unable to look her in the eye. After a while however, Fiora wiggled her hand loose and brought it up to pinch his nose closed. "...I'm sorry for-!" Kent found himself unable to breath, and had to stop talking to allow his mouth to take in air before he slowly let go of her and removed her thumb and forefinger from his nose. He looked upon her quizzically and asked, "Fiora, what-?"

"Sorry," she interrupted with a playful smile, " I suppose that was a bit immature of me but it was... necessary." she cleared her throat apologetically before she continued with a look of deep compassion, "Kent, if it is all the same to you then let me convey that I accept your apologies, but please; fulfill my wish. My wish that neither of us shall ever have any doubts, or worries, or regrets about anything that has happened between us. I cannot tell you how much I thank you for your concern, but please do not worry about it. Only know that everything will be fine. You need not be ashamed. I care not what happens... so long as we stay together."

"Fiora..." He spoke in little more than a whisper, looking upon her for what seemed like the first time in his life, "I'm sorr-! I mean... I will do the very best that I can to honor your wish. I thank you so much for all you've done Fiora, and I don't know what the rest of my life would have been like if I didn't realize my feelings for you, but I do know that I am glad that I did, and that you returned my feelings." She snuggled against him once more as he continued, "I can't tell you how glad I am... that we shared something so special... This morning I was afraid of what you would think of me, but now I know that everything will be fine... that knowing you has truly been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I wish nothing more than for you to be happy... for us to be happy... together." She looked deeply into his eyes and she could feel the warmth he felt for her, "I love you Fiora."

"I love you Kent." Her lips sighed softly before they met his. It was a kiss of promise, and it was a good feeling.

UBER-FIN!

Doesn't that give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside? Well, sadly this concludes the greatest piece of fiction I've ever composed. I suggest you take a moment to just take a breath or two and let this all soak in. I encourage you to take your time with that, but I do have some quite... interesting information that I would like to reveal; for this is not the only piece of work I've posted on this site...

Truth be told, I am actually none other than bungiefan89! To make a long story very very short, my personal life would have been heavily desecrated were I to have posted this fic under the name of bungiefan89, so I made a second author name to post this beauty. If you are a Tales of Symphonia fan, looking for a truly hilarious and well-written ToS fic, or want to get a laugh out of my perspective of the Harry Potter franchise, or are a hard-core Halo fan looking for a suspenseful action-packed (though incomplete so far) fic, then I suggest you read some of my other stories (none of these fics are of the 'romance' gender, and were written long ago in early 2005, but might be worth at least looking into).

All of that propaganda for myself put aside, I would highly recommend that you read through this fic a second time. And to get maximum enjoyment out of it, I suggest you read it while all snuggled up and warm in a blanket with a nice tall glass of ice cold water (because as we all know, water is good for you).

I would like to take this moment to express my thanks to Lemurian-Girl for so consistently reviewing every chapter of my story so graciously (even when she didn't read one). I very much appreciate it!

And I give my deepest, most sincere and special thanks to the greatest Kent/Fiora fan of all, one of the strongest inspirations for my writing of this fic, and my friend, Silvara. Without whom, I may have never posted this; thank you so very much!

And now, a rhyme:

R&R or give me a flame,

For I shall read them all the same.

The life of this fic has come to an end,

But your weeping hearts will surly mend.

It takes a wit keener than any dart,

To write a full-fledged work of art.

I've poured my soul into this fic for you,

So repay my grace: READ AND REVIEW!

(accepts prize money for writing best poem of all time)


End file.
